China closed tap on Google… and who is to lose?

We all learned recently that China closed access to Google. This is not the first time when for political or other reason the access to information is restricted by countries that did not fully embrace democracy.

The changes in technology that happen over the last 30 years broke lots of barriers and opened a lot of doors. More then anything, they opened economic opportunities for millions around the globe by allowing people become a part of much larger community and provided leeway to the world market. From expansion of cell phone technology in India, availability of internet on computers powered by solar panels in Africa, this democratization of access to information enabled huge amount of people to come out of poverty, start new businesses and create prosperity.

I don’t believe that this news about China means it will roll back to its old ways. It does mean, however, that in the global supply chain of today such bans create losers, not winners.