James Delahunty
3 Feb 2013 5:54
Schmidt labels China a menace.
"The New Digital Age," by Eric Schmidt is due to be released in April, but the Wall Street Journal has obtained information from it. Schmidt hits out at China in several areas of Information Technology, branding the state the "world's most active and enthusiastic filterer of information."
The book alleges that China is the most sophisticated and prolific hacker of foreign companies.
"The disparity between American and Chinese firms and their tactics will put both the government and the companies of the United States as a distinct disadvantage," Schmidt is quoted to have written.
Washington "will not take the same path of digital corporate espionage, as its laws are much stricter (and better enforced) and because illicit competition violates the American sense of fair play."
However, he does argue in the book that the United States, and other Western governments, should follow China's lead to develop stronger relationships between the state and technology companies.
China has very recently denied a new string of hacking allegations, including an attack on the New York Times.