Looks like the crystal ball gazers from yesterday were right, Google has removed its censored Google.cn search service from the net. As of now, if you try and reach Google.cn you are redirected to Google’s Hong Kong site Google.hk.
David Drummond, Google Corporate Development and Chief Legal Officer
David Drummond, Google Corporate Development and Chief Legal Officer, made a lengthy post to the Official Google Blog explain some the history behind this decision and explain the current situation.
“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.”
This seems to echo the comments made in the Chinese state media we mentioned yesterday. There really seemed to be no movement on the censorship issue. Mr Drummond continued:
“We believe this new approach of providing uncensored search in simplified Chinese from Google.com.hk is a sensible solution to the challenges we've faced—it's entirely legal and will meaningfully increase access to information for people in China. We very much hope that the Chinese government respects our decision, though we are well aware that it could at any time block access to our services”
He goes on to say that Google have created a page allowing them to show the current state of their services in China. This “Mainland China service availability” page lists a breakdown of the services from Web and Image search to Blogger and Picasa.
For the time being it seems that Chinese Internet users are being given access to uncensored search via a redirect to Google’s Hong Kong site, from the recent statements made through the Chinese state media it is difficult to see how this situation will be tenable – surely access to these sites will be removed.
For other businesses looking to enter the Chinese market this must surely be an illuminating case study. The huge economic might of China can only be accessed with adherence to the cultural values stated by the Chinese government.
..More information can be found on David Drummond’s post to the Official Google Blog, the “Mainland China service availability” page and if you fancy being redirected to Hong Kong then try accessing Google.cn for yourself.
- Search The Human Body With Google Body Browser - December 21, 2010
- Has This Site Been Hacked? - December 20, 2010
- How Do Twitter & Facebook’s 2010 Trends Compare With Google’s? - December 14, 2010
- Google Zeitgeist 2010: What Have You Been Searching For Planet Earth? - December 10, 2010
- Google Chrome Gets Store And Talks Chrome OS - December 8, 2010
- Google Issues Security Email For Website Optimiser - December 7, 2010
- Google Launches AdWords Global Market Finder - December 7, 2010
- New Android Phone Promises A Pure Experience - December 7, 2010
- Google AdWords Wants Your Products! - December 3, 2010
- Know How Mobile Internet Affects Your Website? Google Analytics does… - December 2, 2010
You may also be interested in:
- Could Google Leave China? In a surprising turn of events, Google Corporate Development and Chief Legal Officer David Drummond airs the idea that Google...
- Google And The Corridors Of Power Google releases information about government information and removal requests, the book is opened on normally behind-doors processes....
- Chinese Government to Renew Google Licence Google continue to operate in China thanks to last minute compromise, but will they ever be the same in China?...
- Google In China – Could This Be The End-Game? The Google - China situation might just be coming to a head as here certainly seems no letup in the...
- Google v China 2015 A glimpse of the future for Google and Apple - What can we expect from these technology giants in the...
Cozy Digital is an