Google decides on Chinese operations
In response to the government of China’s requirement that Google censor search results for its citizens, the company has announced that it will redirect all Chinese users to its Hong Kong portal.
In this way Google has revealed, via its official blog, that it will offer “uncensored search in simplified Chinese, specifically designed for users in mainland China and delivered via our servers in Hong Kong”.
The argument between Google and the Chinese state began in January when several US based companies fell victim to “a sophisticated cyber attack originating from China”.
During Google’s investigation into the matter the company also “uncovered evidence to suggest that the Gmail accounts of dozens of human rights activists connected with China were being routinely accessed by third parties, most likely via phishing scams or malware placed on their computers”.
For this reason the search engine provider elected to cease censorship of search results on Google.cn.
According to Google the decision to redirect Chinese internet users to its Hong Kong portal in the face of threats from the Chinese government was a difficult one.
“Figuring out how to make good on our promise to stop censoring search on Google.cn has been hard. We want as many people in the world as possible to have access to our services, including users in mainland China, yet the Chinese government has been crystal clear throughout our discussions that self-censorship is a non-negotiable legal requirement,” said Google.
Google Corporate Development and Chief Legal Officer David Drummon has revealed that this decision is “entirely legal and will meaningfully increase access to information for people in China”.
In terms of wider operations within the country Google intends to continue research and development work in China and to maintain a sales presence there although “the size of the sales team will obviously be partially dependent on the ability of mainland Chinese users to access” the Hong Kong portal.
In response the Chinese media has lashed out at Google, accusing the company of violating a written censorship agreement to filter its search results within the country.
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