Google may lose internet licence in China

In wake of the censorship controls in China, Google has been redirecting everyone using Google.cn to Google.com.hk, its Hong Kong search engine.

Google had, on March 22, shut down its China-based search engine to keep away from the communist government's internet censorship. Since then it has rerouted users to its unfiltered site in Hong Kong.

Approach serves dual purpose
Visitors to Google.cn now see a tab that states in Chinese language "We have moved to google.com.hk"

"This approach ensures we stay true to our commitment not to censor our results on Google.cn and gives users access to all of our services from one page," a spokesperson for the company said.

This way Google also manages to adhere to the local law prevalent in China.

But the strategy has not made officials in Beijing happy. In fact, the Chinese government intends to cancel Google's Internet Content Provider license if the practice continues.

"If Google wants to continue operating in China, it will have to get used to more vacillations from the authorities," said Charles Mok, chairman of the Hong Kong branch of the Internet Society, an international industry body.

If the standoff between the Mountain View, California-based Google and the Chinese government is not resolved, the search-engine company may have to exit the world’s largest internet market which had 384 million people online at the end of 2009.

"Google would effectively go dark in China. It’s clear from conversations we have had with Chinese government officials that they find the redirect unacceptable," Google’s Chief Legal Officer David Drummond said in a blog posting.

Beijing will not soften stance
Google’s license to operate in China expires Wednesday; however, the company has already submitted its application for extension of the license.

The Chinese government said that the internet played an "irreplaceable role in accelerating the development of the national economy."

The officials added that the government would keep its tentacles on the online content and wedge all rebellious material.

Websites like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter that can be used by nonconformists and human rights activists to spread criticism of Beijing have already been blocked in China.

"If Google wants to continue operating in China, it will have to get used to more vacillations from the authorities," said Charles Mok, chairman of the Hong Kong branch of the Internet Society, an international industry body.

"In this confrontation between Google and the Chinese government, there are quite a few instruments at the disposal of the government that could be brought to bear on Google," added Mok.