1426178298449.468 Schmidt’s Washington speech on North Korea, Internet and dictatorships

http://www.northkoreatech.org/2013/05/13/schmidts­washington­speech­on­north­korea­internet­and­dictatorships/ 1/6

« Anonymous attacks North Korean sites again Google on North Korean maps »

Eric Schmidt, chairman of Google,speaks at the company’s Big Tent

event in Washington, D.C., on April26, 2013.

A screenshot from the Chosun Ilbowebsite on April 29, 2103.

Schmidt’s Washington speech on NorthKorea, Internet and dictatorshipsGoogle has posted video of Eric Schmidt’s remarks at the recent“Big Tent” event in Washington, D.C.

The Google‐organized events act as idea summits and have beenrunning for about three years and the D.C. event took place onApril 26.

During his speech, the chairman of Google talked about NorthKorea and the impact that the connected world, and the Internetin particular, would have on authoritarian countries.

“In North Korea we visited with the government, of course that’sall there is in North Korea, and we went to the Korea ComputerCenter and they asked us all about future versions of Android,” he said in the speech. “Obviously theyhave access, at least in the government, to what we are doing, as if I was going to tell the futureroadmap of Android to the North Koreans. I obviously didn’t.”

I’ve been waiting for the video to verify exactly what he said aftera report in the Chosun Ilbo made it seem like the North Koreanswere asking Schmidt for top‐secret software code. ﴾see image,right﴿

In fact, rather than trying “to get classified software technology”as the Chosun Ilbo painted, it appears the computer scientistsjust wanted to know what features would be available in futureversions of Android. Pretty much everyone in the mobile industryhas the same question — something Google could reveal thatlater this week at its I/O conference in San Francisco.

Getting Android doesn’t even need Google’s permission. Thebasic version of Android is open‐source software that can befreely downloaded from the Internet. An export license mayofficially be required, but that doesn’t appear to have been ahurdle so far.

That basic version doesn’t include the Google services, like Gmail, Maps or YouTube. For those apps alicensing agreement is required with Google.

Beyond the North Korea‐specific comments, the whole thing is worth watching if you’re interested inwhat’s driving Schmidt these days. Listen and it will become clear that his January trip to Pyongyangwasn’t at all about opening up North Korea to Google, but about opening up a dialogue with thecountry about it’s coming transition to a more connected place. That’s something he sees asinevitable.

1426178298504.356 Schmidt’s Washington speech on North Korea, Internet and dictatorships

http://www.northkoreatech.org/2013/05/13/schmidts­washington­speech­on­north­korea­internet­and­dictatorships/ 2/6

“We’re going to see this one‐way valve from the connected world to the non‐connected world, andthis is going to happen whether we like it or not,” he said.

More connectivity will not only transform the lives of North Koreans, but has the chance tofundamentally change the way the rest of the world looks at North Korea. Right now, too much of theworld views North Korea by its government’s actions and sees the people as nothing more than abrain‐washed populous. Schmidt argues that will change.

“All of a sudden we’re going to hear the distinct voices of citizens in those countries in a way we’venever heard before, and by the way, they’re just like us. They’re human beings, they’re curious, theywant the right things for their children, they want good health, they don’t want war, all those kinds ofthings,” he said.

But he acknowledges that authoritarian governments are going to push against further expansion ofcommunications technology.

“Governments are going to work really, really hard to stop this because they way to really get adictator going is to threaten their authority, which is the way revolutions occur,” he said.

There was a final shout‐out to North Korea, when Schmidt said he viewed the country as the secondworst for connectivity and flow of information in the world.

“What’s interesting is that I had always thought the worst place was North Korea, and I’ve sincediscovered there is an even worse place, which is Eritrea, which I have not yet been able to go to but ismy objective,” Schmidt said.

Eritrea usually sits with North Korea at the bottom of the Reporters Without Borders and FreedomHouse press freedom rankings.

Reporters Without Borders recently characterized Eritrea as, “a vast open prison for its people.”

1426178298524.589 Schmidt’s Washington speech on North Korea, Internet and dictatorships

http://www.northkoreatech.org/2013/05/13/schmidts­washington­speech­on­north­korea­internet­and­dictatorships/ 3/6

Related posts:

1. DPRK again at bottom of press freedom ranking2. DPRK officials indicated Internet is inevitable, says Sophie Schmidt3. Eric Schmidt on his North Korean visit4. Schmidt’s Internet message “well received,” says Richardson5. Eric Schmidt and the North Korean Internet dilemma

Eric Schmidt, Google, Reporters Without Borders

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This entry was posted by Martyn Williams on May 13, 2013 at 14:01, and is filed under Censorship,Internet, Media. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response ortrackback from your own site.

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