Thursday, January 14, 2010
A young Chinese woman lays flowers on the logo of Google in front of the headquarters of Google China in Beijing, January 13, 2010. (photo: Imaginechina via AP Images)
Google, which previously caved into demands by China’s government to censor Internet searches in order to enter the Chinese market, is now threatening to pull out of the country altogether. Beijing’s atrocious record on human rights did not keep Google from playing ball in the first place, but once China’s army of hackers went after the search engine’s propriety information and Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights groups in December, the company decided enough was enough.
As a first step, Google intends to stop censoring searches through its website, Google.cn. Since the Chinese government is unlikely to tolerate uncensored Web searches, the move could mean the withdrawal of Google from the country.
Dan Brody, who set up Google’s operation in China and now runs his own Internet media investment firm, told The Washington Post that the company probably earns $300 million to $400 million a year in China. Brody said this amount pales to what Google makes elsewhere, especially in the Western world.
The December cyber attacks also were directed at 34 other companies, including Adobe and possibly Northrop Grumman and Dow Chemical, in an effort to obtain data about weapons systems and source code for computer applications.
In China, news of Google’s decision to perhaps pull out of the country was censored. The New York Times reported that some big Chinese news sources carried only brief descriptions of the story before pulling them. Later reports left out Google’s references to “free speech” and “surveillance.”
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Google Threatens to Leave China after Attacks on Activists' E-Mail (by Ellen Nakashima, Steven Mufson and John Pomfret, Washington Post)
Google’s Threat Echoed Everywhere, Except China (by Andrew Jacobs, Miguel Helft and John Markoff, New York Times)
A New Approach to China (by David Drummond, Google Blog)
Google ‘No Longer Willing’ to Censor Chinese Searches (by Stephen C. Webster, Raw Story)
China Faces Backlash from 'Netizens' if Google Leaves (by Steven Mufson, Washington Post)
China's Google Dilemma: Soften on Censorship or Anger Millions of Internet Users (by Steven Mufson, Washington Post)
Google China Cyberattack Part of Vast Espionage Campaign, Experts Say (by Ariana Eunjung Cha and Ellen Nakashima, Washington Post)
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