Huge.  News.

From the moment it began censoring search results in China, Google has walked a fine line between compliance with Chinese law and censorship of important ideas and vital communication.  However, following a cyberattack that reach beyond Google and targeted the email accounts of Chinese human rights activists, Google has suddenly reversed its original stance on the issue.

From a post on the Official Google Blog (emphasis mine): 

These attacks and the surveillance they have uncovered–combined with the attempts over the past year to further limit free speech on the web–have led us to conclude that we should review the feasibility of our business operations in China. We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn, and so over the next few weeks we will be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all. We recognize that this may well mean having to shut down Google.cn, and potentially our offices in China.

Just as the cyberattack went beyond hitting Google, this decision will have political, economic, and social ramifications that go well beyond the “feasibility” of operatingi in China. 

If nothing else, it’s a temporary victory in the battle for the freedom of information.  Depending on how Google fares with its uncensored approach, the victory will either leave a lasting impression or will simply burn out and fade away. 

Either way, Google’s long overdue policy reversal suggets a flicker of hope, and maybe that’s what we need most for a new year and a new decade.