Maybe Google finally went on the offensive against China to take focus away from a significant security breach.

Maybe the search giant did it because its business prospects in the hopelessly gamed and deeply corrupt Chinese market were negligible and dwindling fast.

Maybe Google got sick and tired of harassment from authorities and having to censor its results in order to operate.

And maybe, just maybe, Google’s top leadership finally decided to do the right thing after the ethically challenged compromises made in the past–in order to to do business in one of the world’s biggest economies–became too much to bear any longer.

I would guess that a little bit of all these things led to the announcement by Google yesterday that it had been under attack from–if you read between the very bright lines–Chinese government-sponsored hackers, that the company would no longer censor its search results and that it might pull its business out of China all together.

While a lot of the speculation so far has been about Google’s motives, real or imagined, it seems to me that the focus should sit squarely on how appalling the Chinese government behaves regarding the Web.

And more to the point, how it tries to pass off egregious censorship, vicious retribution of its critics using digital skullduggery and persistent violations of basic freedoms as justified by government policy and laws.

That canard is accepted by no one with any kind of conscience and falls flat in today’s increasingly transparent digital-centric world.

Still, few in Silicon Valley, which is knee-deep in lucrative Chinese Web investments, have ever done much in the way of protesting about the situation, even though the writing has been on the wall since China strong-armed Yahoo into releasing information about dissidents and then threw those courageous citizens in jail and threw away the key.

(Thus, one blog post noting that Yahoo’s withdrawal from the country and subsequent investment in Chinese Web company Alibaba meant that the Internet giant “played China far better than Google,” was utterly perplexing, given that it glossed over the key part regarding tragic victims of Yahoo’s cloddish missteps there. Let’s be clear: No matter how much money it makes, for that alone, Yahoo can never ever be called smart when it comes to China.)

Perhaps it is time to remember the late House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Lantos (pictured above), who lambasted Yahoo management then, calling its execs moral “pygmies.”

In another memorable hearing, the California Democratic congressman took a well-deserved whack at other tech companies for their lack of “social responsibility” and for caving to “Beijing’s outrageous but predictable demands” simply to garner more profits.

Here’s a video of the eloquent Lantos–himself a survivor of the Holocaust, so he knew exactly what he was talking about when he spoke of government suppression and abuse–at a hearing that included Microsoft (MSFT), Yahoo (YHOO), Cisco (CSCO) and, yes, Google (GOOG).

What he said then must have finally sunk in: “Your abhorrent activities in China are a disgrace. I simply don’t understand how your corporate leadership sleeps at night.”

How far Google execs are willing to take this fight with China will determine how well they sleep in the future. But good for them for beginning this move, which is critical to the Web evolving globally as a free, unfettered and transparent force.

Most of all, we should only hope that Google’s actions spur other tech companies to try to change China the only way its government understands: By saying enough is enough regarding how China behaves in the digital community, and finding a “spine,” as Lantos called for, to actually do something that will make a difference.

Because, let’s be honest, enough was enough a very long time ago.

I urge you to watch this inspiring and pointed speech by Lantos in its entirety:

What happened? Apparently, Microsoft (MSFT) realized that “Family Guy” is a ribald, off-color sitcom–but only after showing up to the taping of “Family Guy Presents: Seth and Alex’s Almost Live Comedy Show.”

Variety says “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane and actor Alex Borstein did indeed promote Windows 7 during the Oct. 16 taping. Alas, “for most of the special, however, MacFarlane and Borstein made typical “Family Guy” style jokes, including riffs on deaf people, the Holocaust, feminine hygiene and incest.”

Whoda thunk?

Give Microsoft credit, though: At least the company figured this one out before the show actually aired–unlike the vomit ads it used to push Internet Explorer 8 last year. And, in defense of MacFarlane and Borstein, Google (GOOG) hasn’t seemed to run into any problems with the pact it struck with MacFarlane last year.

Microsoft’s backpedal, via Variety:

“We initially chose to participate in the Seth and Alex variety show based on the audience composition and creative humor of ‘Family Guy,’ but after reviewing an early version of the variety show it became clear that the content was not a fit with the Windows brand,” said a Microsoft spokesperson. “We continue to have a good partnership with Fox, Seth MacFarlane and Alex Borstein and are working with them in other areas. We continue to believe in the value of brand integrations and partnerships between brands, media companies and talent.”

Here’s a representative sample of the show Microsoft was betting on: A clip that Hulu says is one of its users’ favorites. Warning! The following includes flatulence, some sex talk and some racial stereotyping. No mention of Microsoft products, though.

Starting Thursday, however, there will be a new online service that aims to change all that. The service, called SnagFilms, allows anyone with a blog, a Web site, or even a page on a social-networking site, to open a virtual movie theater and show these documentaries, free. The virtual theater is a small widget that contains the film, and that can be embedded easily and quickly in a wide variety of popular social-networking services and blog platforms. No technical knowledge is needed.

Once a site or page owner “snags” a film in this way, visitors to the site can view it in a larger window that pops out from the widget. This window plays the film, displays some ads and provides links to charities or organizations related to the topic of the movie. The films can even be played in full-screen mode. Many also include links for buying a DVD of the film. All that’s missing is the popcorn.

These aren’t homemade, three-minute YouTube (GOOG) clips. Nearly all are feature-length, professionally produced documentaries, from both small independent filmmakers and well-known sources such as PBS and National Geographic.

The owner of the site or blog gets no direct revenue from posting the films. He or she is, in effect, donating space to support the film or the cause it highlights, a decision SnagFilms calls “filmanthropy.” But the filmmaker and SnagFilms do make money — splitting advertising revenue equally. And the charity or organization can make money, too, if viewers opt to donate. The filmmaker also can make money from DVD sales, paying SnagFilms an 8.5% commission.

I have been testing a prerelease version of the SnagFilms service and have posted SnagFilms widgets with no problems to Facebook, MySpace (News Corp), iGoogle, Netvibes, Blogger, Windows Live Spaces (MSFT) and Vox. Many more Web sites can house these widgets, including the vast number of blogs built on the popular WordPress and TypePad platforms.

Here’s how it works. You just go to the SnagFilms Web site at www.snagfilms.com, select one or more of the 250 or so films available at launch and click the snag button. A menu pops up that lists numerous popular networking services and platforms. Clicking one will automatically post the SnagFilms widget of your choice on your page or site at one of these services. You can also simply view the films at the SnagFilms site.

Each widget includes an “info” button that takes you to a page on the SnagFilms site giving the details and background on the film. You can also leave comments here, rate the film, order the DVD and see recommendations for related films.

The system is viral, so you don’t have to start at the SnagFilms site. A Web surfer who sees a SnagFilms movie anywhere on the Web can spread it around just by clicking the snag button on every widget. The snag button allows the viewer to either host the film or to email a link to the film that will bring friends to the SnagFilms site to view or snag it.

SnagFilms is the brainchild of Ted Leonsis, a former top executive at America Online (TWS), who in recent years has become a documentary-film producer. He became frustrated with the distribution bottleneck for such films and arranged to take over AOL’s documentary site, TrueStories, and turn it into SnagFilms. He also is chairman of the board of a company, Clearspring, which created the film widgets.

At launch, the SnagFilms catalog includes well-known documentaries like “Super Size Me,” but also lesser-known films on a wide variety of topics, including college football, AIDS in Africa, politics, profiles of average people and tales of the New York Fire Department. One of my favorites was “Paper Clips,” the story of how a school in Tennessee learned about the Holocaust.

Filmmakers can submit movies to the site by sending an email to: submissions@snagfilms.com. SnagFilms says it doesn’t censor or edit the films, but won’t accept pornography or films deemed to encourage hate. It does have a selection process, so not all films submitted will make it onto the site. The company hopes to add more films soon.

I had only two gripes about SnagFilms. First, the films should be able to play inside the widget itself, with an option inside to play at larger sizes. Having to open a separate browser window is a pain. The company says it’s working on this.

Second, the initial catalog is light on documentaries from a conservative or probusiness perspective. But the company says it is “actively seeking to offer differing viewpoints” and will soon add “a number of films that are quite conservative in philosophy.”

SnagFilms is a great idea for getting documentary films in front of more people. It’s another example of how the Web is changing media distribution for the better.

• Find all of Walt Mossberg’s columns and videos online, free, at the All Things Digital Web site, walt.allthingsd.com. Email him at mossberg@wsj.com.