Comments on: Google Threatens to Stop Following Censorship Rules. Is This A Joke?

By: Tian

Tian — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 08:00:49 +0000

Perhaps 30% isn’t good enough for Google.

http://www.forbes.com/2009/12/21/google-baidu-internet-intelligent-technology-fannin.html

By: SD

SD — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 22:09:07 +0000

The hacking was probably the straw that broke the camel’s back.

To say that Google would withdraw from China because it “screwed the pooch” is ridiculous. 35% and rising market share isn’t bad.

I wonder if the googlers realized that the Chinese gov’t won’t respond well to this.

Can’t wait for the next volley.

By: H

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 21:36:18 +0000

From what I understand, Google was actually doing a decent job of catching up, with over 30% market share, considering it started from scratch and fairly recently so.

By: Tian

Tian — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 20:15:39 +0000

“Has it occurred to anyone that Google might actually be doing the right thing? Maybe it�s just sick of its product being censored and hacked into. Fair enough.”

Sorry, I don’t buy that at all. As a tech company, you pretty much expect challenges like that. In fact, you should *welcome* it as it makes your system stronger. One can’t shy away from challenges when one’s the king.

It’s hard to guess the motivations for Google bailing out.
One thing we know for sure is that it has not done well vs. Baidu. Kaifu Lee, a star poached from microsoft, left Google recently. That should tell you the state of its Chinese operation.

It’s conceivable that Google thinks its only edge against Baidu lies in giving the Chinese more open information, to go where Baidu can’t.
Otherwise it’ll close up shop and divert its resources to better use elsewhere. Fine. To be able to dress this all up as a matter of principle — even better. It’s simply great PR. But I hope you’ll forgive my chortles when people think this is all matters of principle.
I don’t think that’s how business works. When Bill Gates wanted to help the world he set up a foundation. He didn’t use microsoft to feed the poor.

By: John

John — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 17:13:59 +0000

One thing many of you are missing is how Google would lose even more of their “do no evil” image if they were to continue kowtowing to China’s Big Brother ideology. Though Google is risking losing their presence in China, it would be worse for them in all of the other countries if they tried to continuing working while the PRC it showing such blatant disregard for basic ideals such as privacy.

The ideals behind the Google brand are a huge component of how people perceive it, and in the eyes of the U.S. and other markets there is no way to reconcile it with China’s leadership.

By: Jon Stewart

Jon Stewart — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 11:42:13 +0000

I can believe what i hear today when i tuned the news,
May google succed when other failed in ending the dictatorship in china?.
This guys have some ball, unlike some people that are scared of using a proxy when they travel to China.

Link to the hack details.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/13731776/Tracking-GhostNet-Investigating-a-Cyber-Espionage-Network

By: Michael

Michael — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 09:36:55 +0000

I can’t understand why there is so much cynicism directed towards Google. They keep launching excellent and often revolutionary products that we now take for granted – and all for free. Remember in the pre-Gmail days when other web-based email providers would only offer a measly few Mb of capacity? Then Googl came aong with unlimited emails. And I would be a fan of theirs for Google Maps and Google Earth alone. I’m also love Google books and the Google news archive. Do people in China even know what they’re missing?
Google’s mission seems to open up the world’s various information sources to the public (books, maps, video, news archives, email and now socia media) and present them in an easy-to-use format. You can see how this mission is inevitably going to bring them into a head on clash with a government that is obsessed with controlling and manipulating information and often keeping it from the public. Maybe Google just decided that its core activities and directions just aren’t compatible with being in China, despite the size and influence of the Chinese internet. Rather than bashing Google, it would be interesting to hear from Chinese commentators on how they think Google should have gone in China – is it possible to reach a compromise on providing the public with the best access to things such as search, news, books, maps, online video, not to mentio secure email? If you were president of Google what would you do? Is it possible to have a ‘Google with Chinese characteristics’ without losing what makes Google such a success?

By: Tim

Tim — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 08:24:57 +0000

I suspect Google is allowed to have more than one reason to take a stand. It�s not pulling out by the way, but threatening to if they cannot manage to find a common ground with the govt. Also, from what I have been reading, although their revenues have been growing here, China is not its most lucrative market. It may be an issue of sour grapes, but there have been serious barriers to entry in this market for Google, what with the inconsistent access to its webpage and gmail to Baidu behaving like a Chinese version of the original Napster.

By the way, did anybody else notice the irony in that the one guy in the Guardian article who was critical of Google�s justification is the Yahoo! Fellow at Georgetown?

By: Joyce Lau

Joyce Lau — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 08:24:23 +0000

Has it occurred to anyone that Google might actually be doing the right thing? Maybe it’s just sick of its product being censored and hacked into. Fair enough.

Funny that the outrage is aimed at Google, and not at the government breaking into accounts and censoring the news.

You can’t compare Baidu. As a Chinese company, it wouldn’t have these qualms about free speech, etc. Plus, since it’s all but unknown outside China, it has no choice.

Baidu needs China. Google doesn’t.

From a business standpoint, it makes sense for Google to stay in China, even if it’s not doing great. The potential market is huge, and operations are cheap. I don’t think Google is pulling out for business reasons. I think it’s a free speech issue.

I don’t think Google is being a sore loser. I think they are standing up for rights. (You can’t take away the cultural difference that the company, and its founders, are American).

And they haven’t pulled out yet. They’re offering China the chance to — shock, horror — actually let a search engine do its job. (Of course, THAT’s not going to happen).

If anyone is losing out, it’s the Chinese people. You can’t write anything critical without having your email hacked into, your blog blocked, or maybe even being thrown in jail.

No YouTube. No Twitter. No Blogspot. And soon, no Google.

Thank god I live in Hong Kong.

By: Hang

Hang — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 07:14:35 +0000

I admit I’m a fan of Google. However, I think it’ll be a stupid decision to pull out of China. Censorship is not friendly with Baidu, either. If I were the CEO/Chairman of Baidu, I’d be extremely happy to see Google’s threat. Google sounds like a sore loser!

Is Google serious or just bluffing? Let’s see.

By: Stan

Stan — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 06:19:20 +0000

I think it’s a little more complicated than that. It’s not a question of being able to stop hackers, it’s about what the company will accept with respect to interference with its processes. If they want to follow China’s rules, they have to accept certain things. If they cannot, then they pull out.

I think they were OK with the censorship, but this behind-the-scenes hacking apparently pissed some folks off big time. I’m not judging Google. I’ve always said, if you want to stay in the country, follow the rules. If not, get out. Either way, you need to be comfortable with what you’re doing.

By: Tian

Tian — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 05:43:16 +0000

I too am bitten by the cynic’s bug. A corporation’s goal — let’s ignore google’s lofty marketing for the moment — is to make money.
Google, a technology company, is supposedly leaving a potentially lucrative market just because of a few hackers? All those Phd’s they hired don’t know how to respond?

Doesn’t make sense. Yet this whole thing is being reported uncritically as-is in the press.

By: charles

charles — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 02:40:45 +0000

google.cn’s search results have already become uncensored