Recently I wrote that Google apparently didn’t mean business when they threatened to pull out of China and close down their activities in the country. It seems I was wrong, well, 99.9% wrong, according to Financial Times.
Due to a hardening in positions from both the Google side and the Chinese government, it now seems more likely than ever, that Google will close down their Chinese version of Google (Google.cn) and most likely their office within China as well. China is still not prepared to compromise on their Internet censorship, in order to stop Google from leaving.
At the same time, the Chinese government has started to warn Google’s partners in China, suggesting they should find new solutions/partners in case Google.cn stops working.
I have previously said that I’m not too happy about the fact that Google is becoming more and more The Internet, but I really hope that they will take a stand and pull out of China – or that China will cease their Internet censorship. Especially with the new ACTA (Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement) thing going on, I’m afraid Internet censorship will become too widespread in many parts of the world, in the near future.
There’s still hope though, when a big Internet company like Google seems to be taking a stand against it.
This whole Google -China altercation is a US government coordinated scam to try to get better access to China’s Uighurs and Tibetans. It is a covert operation to try to foment unrest and trouble for China. The Chinese see through this and are not perturbed. If Google wants to quit, so be it,
I heard it on the news too, the other day. I think this is more related to China and its stand in the world, than to the Internet.
.-= Anne Moss´s last blog ..The World’s Most Obedient Dog =-.
I guess it’s hard for us to really know what the cause(s) are, except what the media is telling us – and from what I’ve seen, they suggest it’s because China is not prepared to go on a compromise with ther Internet censorship.
I do think moving out of China will benefit Google from a public relations standpoint but this would definitely create a dent on the business side of things. They do have 1/3 of the search market there.
.-= Archon Digital´s last blog ..Facebook Fan Page & Fan Box Script – Image Replacement Fix =-.
I don’t know why the China Govt. are filtering so much Tech related issues ??? It’s ridiculous. So google has decided to take this step.