Google May Close Virtual Doors in China
Google is "99.9 percent" certain it will shut down its search engine operation in China after the government in Beijing warned the company that it was flouting the country's censorship laws, which require limited access to content like "Tiananmen Square" and "democracy."
Google is “99.9 percent” certain it will shut down its search engine operation in China after the government in Beijing warned the company that it was flouting the country’s censorship laws, which require limited access to content like “Tiananmen Square” and “democracy.”
Google’s decision would close a chapter in a long battle between China and the U.S. regarding censorship and the Internet. Google is the world’s leading search engine, but holds only about a 40 percent market share in China, behind leader Baidu. –JCL
WAIT BEFORE YOU GO...Reuters:
Talks with China over censorship have reached an apparent impasse and Google, the world’s largest search engine, is now “99.9 percent” certain to shut its Chinese search engine, the Financial Times said on Saturday.
It said in a report on its website Google had drawn up detailed plans for closing its Chinese search engine.
The newspaper cited a person familiar with the company’s thinking as saying that, while a decision could be made very soon, Google was likely to take some time to follow through with its plans.
That would be in order to bring about an orderly closure as the company takes steps to protect local employees from retaliation by authorities, it said.
China warned Google on Friday against flouting the country’s laws, as expectations grow for a resolution to a public battle over censorship and cyber-security.
This year, the ground feels uncertain — facts are buried and those in power are working to keep them hidden. Now more than ever, independent journalism must go beneath the surface.
At Truthdig, we don’t just report what's happening — we investigate how and why. We follow the threads others leave behind and uncover the forces shaping our future.
Your tax-deductible donation fuels journalism that asks harder questions and digs where others won’t.
Don’t settle for surface-level coverage.
Unearth what matters. Help dig deeper.
Donate now.
Media
Legislative assaults on the media are a key driver of the downward spiral.
Film
The personal is political in the Iranian drama “The Seed of the Sacred Fig.”
TD Original
The Brazilian government’s position on social media threatens the left that brought it to power.
Activism
It is imperative that we take a stand against any threats to freedoms of speech and press lest we regret it in the decades to come.
Courts & Law
An unconventional citizen journalist stands up for free speech by suing the Laredo public officials who had her arrested.
Education
Escambia County’s school district was already facing a lawsuit over banned books on LGBTQ+ subjects and race.
You need to be a supporter to comment.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.