Courtesy of Xhacker (CC-BY-SA)
Over the weekend, numerous reports emerged that Google was drawing ever closer to closing Google.cn, the company’s China search portal. One source claimed that the company was “‘99.9 per cent’ certain,” that it would be closing its search portal serving the Chinese Internet market. The ostensible reason: censorship.
Google’s China presence came into the spotlight in January after the company’s general counsel leveled accusations against the government of the People’s Republic regarding systematic cyber attacks against Google services and intellectual property. Since then, Google has received strong rebuke on more than one occasion from China’s state-run media. In its latest commentary, the Xinhua news agency made clear the Chinese government’s current position.
“We welcome Google to stay if it wants, but it has to abide by Chinese law. There is no space to bargain on this issue. … One thing is certain: the earth will not stop spinning because Google leaves. Chinese Internet users will continue to go online.”
Ars Technica’s Jacqui Cheng makes the case that Google and the PRC are “playing a game of Chicken over censorship.” That’s not a bad analogy. It’s hard to imagine any tech company pulling out of what is by several measures the world’s largest tech market (the country probably has more Internet users than any other).
The one thing Google should be consistent about is why it is considering leaving. Is it because of cyber attacks against its services? Or is it because of Chinese policies regarding censorship of the Dalai Lama and Falun Gong, for instance? Or is it because the Chinese attempted to purloin data from Gmail accounts regarding dissident groups? This is a set of talking points that needs to stay consistent if the company’s arguments are to be well-received not just here, but in China as well.
Christopher Bronk is the Baker Institute fellow in technology, society and public policy. He previously served as a career diplomat with the United States Department of State on assignments both overseas and in Washington, D.C.