Google to pull out of China?

LazyLion

LazyLion

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http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/01/12/google.china/index.html

Google reports China-based attack, says pullout possible
January 12, 2010 10:56 p.m. EST

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Google said Tuesday the company and at least 20 others were victims of a "highly sophisticated and targeted attack" originating in China in mid-December, evidently to gain access to the e-mail accounts of Chinese human rights activists.

"Based on our investigation to date we believe their attack did not achieve that objective," according to a statement by David Drummond, senior vice president of corporate development and chief legal officer for Google, operator of the most popular Internet search engine.

Drummond said that as a result of the attacks, Google has decided it is no longer willing to consider censorship of its Google site in China and may have to shut down its site and its offices in that nation.

"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," Drummond wrote.

"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," Drummond's statement reads.

A Google spokesman said the targeted human rights activists were in the United States, Europe and China.

Efforts by CNN to reach the Chinese Embassy in Washington Tuesday evening were not successful.

Google, perhaps best known for its search engine, also provides other computer services, including e-mail, online mapping and social networking.
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'bout time!
 
Communist bs at it's best. See they have however embraced other capitalist principals.
 
who're we kidding

ponder said:
Communist bs at it's best. See they have however embraced other capitalist principals.
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They're not communists, that is just an excuse for them to keep a centralized and dictatorial regime, from the beginning to the end. Information providers such as Google will never be allowed to operate freely there, dream on.
 
China needs to understand that if it wants to do business with the West it will have to open itself up and allow freedom of expression, privacy etc.

I fully support Google's stance. It's Chinese business is tainting the Google brand.
 
seted said:
China needs to understand that if it wants to do business with the West it will have to open itself up and allow freedom of expression, privacy etc.

I fully support Google's stance. It's Chinese business is tainting the Google brand.
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eh i believe they are already doing a ****load of business with the West. The West has pandered to the Chinese so they see no reason to change.

So does china have like a firewall around the countries infrastructure?
 
milomak said:
eh i believe they are already doing a ****load of business with the West. The West has pandered to the Chinese so they see no reason to change.
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Yip, I don't think China give a toss about what the west thinks, they own the west.
 
China sells to the West. Capitalist democracies. If China does not change to suit its customer base, then those customers will start looking elsewhere. It would certainly take a long time for the West to lose its patience, but ultimately they would start to stimulate other markets that suit them better. It would be an expensive exercise but in my view a necessary one. Monopolies are not healthy. China would collapse without western businesses buying it's stuff.

There is nothing intrinsic to China that cannot be created elsewhere.
 
milomak said:
How about a whole market the Western companies are yet to tap into?
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Sure, but this is true of India and Africa too. The question is whether the restrictions placed on western companies is worth doing business in China. Can China afford to alienate its customers?

Consumers in Europe and America are becoming increasingly uncomfortable with businesses that are willing to compromise human rights in exchange for cheap goods.

For the moment China is given the benefit of the doubt, but this will not continue indefinitely.
 
Just as a example, I have noticed many Blackberries I give out is made either in Mexico or Hungary....and NOT in China. I like it...means no lead poisoning for my clients :p:whistle:
 
Hopefully this will mean Google works with those already working to circumvent the Chinese filters.
 
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