WebProNews

Tag: China

  • China Won’t Stand in the Way of Google’s Android Business

    Since the widely publicized turbulence between Google and the Chinese government erupted, there has been a lot of speculation about whether or not Google would continue to do business in China in any capacity whatsoever. The company stopped censoring search results in its Chinese search engine, and threatened to pull out of China before it would again do so. Talks between Google and China are expected in the near future.

    Based on the latest words from the Chinese government on the matter, Google’s Android business should at least be safe in the country. Ministry of Industry and Information Technology spokesman Zhu Hongren is quoted as saying at a news briefing:

    Android"As long as it complies with Chinese laws and regulations, and as long as it has good cooperation with operators…their use of the system won’t be limited."

    The Chinese government has maintained since the incident took place that as long as services comply with Chinese law, they will not block anything. There are still a lot of opportunities for Google to make money in China without the presence of its search engine, and it remains to be seen just which Google will continue to pursue.

    The whole situation has been largely murky at best. The U.S. government has been involved because Google has alleged that the Chinese government was involved with the cyber attacks that kicked this whole thing into motion, and the Chinese government has denied any involvement and said that either way it should be viewed as a "business dispute" as opposed to anything that should effect relations between the two countries.

    For our past coverage on the Google China situation, browse through our China tag.

    Related Articles:

    > Motorola Slates 20-30 Android Phones For 2010 Release

    > Google Delays Launch Of Android Phones In China

    > Google Tries To Carve Out Its Place In Mobile

  • Bill Gates Sides With Ballmer, MSFT On China

    About 10 days ago, Steve Ballmer indicated that he didn’t share Google’s views with regards to China; Ballmer said that Microsoft would continue operating in China regardless of recent hacks and a policy of censorship.  Today, Bill Gates more or less echoed those sentiments.

    Some free speech advocates might have hoped Gates would feel otherwise; after all, now that he’s let Ballmer take the reigns at Microsoft, Gates seem to have focused his energies on doing good in the world, and Google’s claimed the moral high ground in this dispute.

    Nonetheless, according to Reuters, Gates said on Good Morning America, "You’ve got to decide: Do you want to obey the laws of the countries you’re in, or not?  If not, you may not end up doing business there."

    Gates also argued, "The Chinese efforts to censor the Internet have been very limited.  It’s easy to go around it, and so I think keeping the Internet thriving there is very important."

    There’s further confirmation that Microsoft will stay the course in China, then.  Of course, we have yet to see what will become of Google’s own protest.

    Related Articles:

    > Microsoft Declines To Change China Approach

    > Microsoft IE Hole Used In Google China Attacks

    > White House Sides With Google In China Standoff

  • Motorola Offers Baidu Search To China Mobile Users

    Motorola is allowing Internet users in China to use Baidu or other search engines on its handsets with Google’s Android operating system.

    Baidu is Google’s chief rival in the search market in China. "Users will be able to select their search experience from a number of providers including Baidu and others, with whom Motorola has signed strategic agreements," the company said.

    Motorola also said it is launching a store for Android applications called SHOP4APPS (or Zhi-Jian-Yuan, which means "Place for Apps Wisdom" in Chinese). Motorola’s Android app store for smartphones is set to launch in time for the Chinese New Year, which begins February 14.

    Motorola-China
    "Our ability to offer SHOP4APPS and choice in search is a testament to the openness of the Android platform.  SHOP4APPS will provide developers the opportunity to market and promote their applications on Android handsets within the Chinese market," said Christy Wyatt, corporate vice president of software and services, Motorola Mobile Devices.

    "In addition to our close collaboration with the Android community, we are working closely with our carrier partners in China, and with ecosystem partners like Baidu to provide consumers with a full suite of services.  These services will include search, email and maps for our newest China smartphones."
     

    Related Articles:

    > China Responds To Google Situation

    > Baidu’s Stock Soars Following China News

    > Google May Quit China

     

  • Google Delays Launch Of Android Phones In China

    This morning, Google gave another sign that it’s not kidding about cutting its ties with China.  The launch of two Android phones in the country – which had been scheduled to take place tomorrow – has been postponed indefinitely.

    Google AndroidIn some respects, this development could be bigger than any decision to take down the Google China site.  Google’s share of the traditional search market is far smaller than Baidu’s, after all, and mobile phones have become the primary way many Chinese people access the Internet.

    Plus, whereas no one expects search technology to advance in leaps and bounds on a regular basis, it’s likely that new and improved Android devices will allow the mobile operating system to make headway at least twice a year.  So if the postponement of tomorrow’s launch represents the start of a trend, Google will be abandoning a significant growth opportunity.

    It’ll be very interesting to see whether the launch of the two Android phones has really just been delayed, then, or if a cancellation takes place.

    Investors seem to be at peace with Google’s move, at least, given that the company’s stock is up 0.12 percent so far this morning.

    Related Articles:

    > Google Tailors Mobile Search Suggestions To Location

    > Google Tries To Carve Out Its Place In Mobile

    > AdMob Determines Android Is Growing Faster Than Ever

  • Were Googlers Involved in Chinese Cyber Attack?

    Reuters is reporting that Google is now investigating the possibility that one or more Google employees could have been involved in the recent attack in China, but is not offering comment on any details. The news agency reports:

    Security analysts told Reuters the malicious software (malware) used in the Google attack was a modification of a Trojan called Hydraq. A Trojan is malware that, once inside a computer, allows someone unauthorized access. The sophistication in the attack was in knowing whom to attack, not the malware itself, the analysts said.

    Local media, citing unnamed sources, reported that some Google China employees were denied access to internal networks after January 13, while some staff were put on leave and others transferred to different offices in Google’s Asia Pacific operations.

    Regardless of whether or not insiders were involved, it’s important to note that "Operation Aurora", as the attacks have been dubbed, stem from a particular vulnerability in Micosoft’s Internet Explorer. Security giant McAfee has a page set up with information on protection. The company explains: 

    McAfee Labs identified a zero-day vulnerability in Microsoft Internet Explorer that was used as an entry point for “Operation Aurora” to exploit Google and at least 30 other companies. Microsoft has issued a security advisory and McAfee is working closely with them on this matter. “Operation Aurora” was a coordinated attack, which included a piece of computer code that exploits a vulnerability in Internet Explorer to gain access to computer systems. This exploit is then extended to download and activate malware within the systems. The attack, which was initiated surreptitiously when targeted users accessed a malicious Web page (likely because they believed it to be reputable), ultimately connected those computer systems to a remote server. That connection was used to steal company intellectual property and, according to Google, additionally gain access to user accounts.

    Operation Aurora

    The company’s "Security Insights" blog has been updated continuously, and may be a good spot to keep in mind for the latest developments on Operation Aurora. 

    The attack on Google has of course led to Google stopping the censoring of its search results in China, which could in turn lead to the company having to shut down its Chinese operations. Philipp Lenssen at Blogoscoped points to some other instances where Google is censoring results.

    More WPN articles on the Google/China story here.

     
    Related Articles:

    > China Responds To Google Situation

    > Baidu’s Stock Soars Following China News

    > Google May Quit China

  • Microsoft Declines To Change China Approach

    In case you were wondering, Microsoft doesn’t plan to let the whole Google-China brouhaha affect its business strategy.  Steve Ballmer recently indicated that his company will more or less stay the course and throw Bing into the regional mix.

    Part of the reason behind this decision might be that Microsoft hasn’t bought into the theory that China’s government participated in the hack that upset Google.  Or that it just felt unthreatened by it.

    Ballmer told Reuters, "We’re attacked every day from all parts of the world and I think everybody else is too.  We didn’t see anything out of the ordinary."

    But whether Microsoft’s good at defending itself or simply dense, there’s little question that it’s sticking around in China.  In response to a question about leaving the country, Ballmer didn’t give a "maybe" or a "we’ll see."  He said, "No."  The CEO then continued, "I don’t understand how that helps anything.  I don’t understand how that helps us and I don’t understand how that helps China."

    Look for Bing to come out of beta and see a wide release in China in the near-ish future, then.

    Related Articles:

    > Microsoft IE Hole Used In Google China Attacks

    > White House Sides With Google In China Standoff

    > Yahoo, Adobe Identified As Victims Of China Hack

  • Microsoft IE Hole Used in Google China Attacks

    Update 3: Now the State Department is quoted as saying it will issue a formal "demarche" to the Chinese government. From the Register:

    "We will be issuing a formal demarche to the Chinese government in Beijing on this issue in the coming days, probably early next week," US State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters Friday. "It will express our concern for this incident and request information from China as to an explanation of how it happened and what they plan to do about it."

    Update 2: On a related note, while various sources the U.S. government is backing Google’s decision, Voice of America reports:

    The top American official in China says the U.S. government will stay out of negotiations between Internet giant Google and the Chinese government.  At the same time, though, he stressed that the issue of Internet freedom is related to free speech, which is a core American value.

     …

    He said the U.S. government sees the American company’s negotiations with China as a business matter and therefore will not get involved.

    Update:



    According to multiple sources, the attacks exploited a new security hole in Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. Microsoft is working with Google and other partners o patch the hole. The attackers called the attacks "Operation Aurora", according to McAfee.

    Original Artilcle: There has been a lot of confusion and mixed reporting going on around this whole Google China situation. Verisign, whose iDefense team who has researched the attacks took note of this and put up a blog post trying to clear the air. Read that to get a clear summarization of what the firm knows. Within that, Verisign says:

    The attack bears significant resemblance to a July 2009 attack in which attackers launched targeted e-mail campaigns against approximately 100 IT-focused companies. The July attack employed a PDF file that exploited a zero-day vulnerability in Adobe Reader.  The malware associated with the summer attacks communicated with Command & Control Servers configured similarly to the Command and Control Servers involved in the Google attacks. In fact, the C&C servers from the Google attacks are within the same subnet and six IP addresses apart from the Command and Control server addresses in the summer attacks.

    Considering the similarity of the two attacks, it is likely that the summer attacks and the Google attacks originate from the same actor and that the organizations targeted in the Silicon Valley attacks have been compromised since July. It is not much of a stretch to speculate (This is the speculation part) that both attacks leveraged an Adobe vulnerability although that has not been confirmed and Google is not talking.

    According to reports, iDefense declares that the Chinese govenrment was behind the effort, which explains Google’s actions, and the involvement of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who said:

    Hillary ClintonWe have been briefed by Google on these allegations, which raise very serious concerns and questions. We look to the Chinese government for an explanation. The ability to operate with confidence in cyberspace is critical in a modern society and economy. I will be giving an address next week on the centrality of internet freedom in the 21st century, and we will have further comment on this matter as the facts become clear.

    Chinese government officials were quoted by Bloomberg:

    "The Chinese government administers the Internet according to law and we have explicit stipulations over what content can be spread on the Internet," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said at a regular briefing in Beijing today. Chinese law prohibits hacking and other forms of online attacks, she said, declining to say whether that law also applies to state agencies.

    …

    "Effective guidance of public opinion on the Internet is an important way of protecting the security of online information," Wang Chen, director of the State Council Information Office, said in a question-and-answer session with reporters, a transcript of which was posted on the office’s Web site today.

    Google.cn     is still accessible (at least from here in the U.S.), and it is no longer censoring search results. Among the other companies affected by the attacks were Yahoo and Adobe.

     


    Related Articles:

    > China Responds To Google Situation

    > Baidu’s Stock Soars Following China News

    > Google May Quit China

  • White House Sides With Google In China Standoff

    Due to a new development, you may be able to either thank Google for getting China to censor less information, or blame the company for starting World War III.  The reason: the White House has sided with Google in the free speech and hacking conflict that cropped up this week.

    According to John Letzing, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said today, "We support [Google’s] action . . . to no longer censor searches that happen using the [Google] platform . . . .  [O]ur concern is with actions that threaten the universal rights of a free Internet."

    That’s a rather bold statement.  The first part might imply that companies still doing business on China’s terms do not have the White House’s approval, and from there, it’s a slippery slope to cries of "un-American!" and other unpleasant accusations.  The part about threats to universal rights then almost brings to mind the idea of some sort of intervention.

    Of course, governments have been known to declare much more dramatic things and do precisely nothing afterward, so don’t take this as WebProNews’s call to prepare for an armed international showdown.

    It’s just very interesting that the U.S. government would weigh in on a company’s business decision at all, and then that it would do so in such a forceful manner.

    Related Articles:

    > Researchers Clarify What Is Known About Chinese Google Attacks

    > China Responds To Google Situation

    > Baidu’s Stock Soars Following China News

  • Yahoo, Adobe Identified As Victims Of China Hack

    When Google made its big announcement about an attack originating from China, the company also mentioned that "at least twenty other large companies" had been affected.  Now, it’s become almost certain that one of them was Adobe, and there are signs that Yahoo was another target.

    Adobe’s status as a victim became more or less official when a post appeared on a corporate blog.  The post stated, "Adobe became aware on January 2, 2010 of a computer security incident involving a sophisticated, coordinated attack against corporate network systems managed by Adobe and other companies."

    There was no mention of Google or China, but it’s not hard to connect the dots.

    As for Yahoo’s involvement, an anonymous source told Brian Womack and Ari Levy that it had been hit.  Or in so many words: "Yahoo! Inc., owner of the No. 2 search engine in the U.S., was targeted by a Chinese attack similar to the one that affected Google Inc., according to a person familiar with the matter."

    There were reports that Facebook, Google, and Twitter teamed up to hunt some hackers following a series of attacks in August of last year.  Perhaps, as different companies are connected to the more recent strikes, we’ll see another coalition form.

    Related Articles:

    > China Responds To Google Situation

    > Baidu’s Stock Soars Following China News

    > Google May Quit China

     

  • China Responds to Google Situation

    Update:  Chinese government officials have responded to Google’s proposed actions. As reported by Bloomberg:

    "The Chinese government administers the Internet according to law and we have explicit stipulations over what content can be spread on the Internet," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said at a regular briefing in Beijing today. Chinese law prohibits hacking and other forms of online attacks, she said, declining to say whether that law also applies to state agencies.

    …

    "Effective guidance of public opinion on the Internet is an important way of protecting the security of online information," Wang Chen, director of the State Council Information Office, said in a question-and-answer session with reporters, a transcript of which was posted on the office’s Web site today.

    Google.cn has reportedly stopped censoring its results, and many expect it to be blocked, although (at least from here in the U.S.) it is currently still accessible, and even has a doodle up.

    Original Article: Google’s situation in China appears to be the biggest story to hit the tech industry in some time, at least in terms of discussion. If you’re not up to speed, we covered Google’s announcement here. What it boils down to is that Google may shut down its operations in China, where it has been censoring search results. Google is now taking the stance of no longer censoring, and the world is waiting to find out if and how China and Google can resolve the issue.

    Share your two cents about the Google China situation.

    It has come to light that the attacks against Google that kicked this whole thing off were part of a string of attacks against 33 companies according to iDefense (this is more than the "at least 20" Google suggested). The other companies are all unknown at this point, except Adobe. Wired Threat reports:

    A hack attack that targeted Google in December also hit 33 other companies, including financial institutions and defense contractors, and was aimed at stealing source code from the companies, say security researchers at iDefense.

    The hackers used a zero-day vulnerability in Adobe Reader to deliver malware to the companies and were in many cases successful at siphoning the source code they sought, according to a statement distributed Tuesday by iDefense, a division of VeriSign. The attack was similar to an attack that targeted other companies last July, the company said.

    As Google noted in its announcement, it looks like a goal of the attackers was to access the Gmail accounts of Chinese Human Rights activists. Again, more on the original story here.

    Hillary ClintonThe U.S. government is now involved. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issued the following statement:

    We have been briefed by Google on these allegations, which raise very serious concerns and questions. We look to the Chinese government for an explanation. The ability to operate with confidence in cyberspace is critical in a modern society and economy. I will be giving an address next week on the centrality of internet freedom in the 21st century, and we will have further comment on this matter as the facts become clear.

    Opinions and speculation are rapidly flying around all over the web. Some feel that Google’s move is more of a business decision than really about "not being evil" and ethics. Robert Scoble, who is "torn" on this notion, has an interesting analysis up, in which he talks about "the push and pull of China" based on his travels to the country.

    Here are a few other noteworthy reactions from various blogs and news outlets:

    Henry Blodget at Silicon Alley Insider:

    "Google made the right decision to build a business in China a few years ago.  And it’s making the right decision now, by threatening to pull out of the country if China doesn’t relax its censorship demands. "

    "Google’s decision to make a big public threat now, when it controls 15%-20% of China’s search market and is known to most Chinese Internet users, will put far more pressure on the Chinese government to relax its policies than a boycott of the country five years ago would have."

    Google matters in China now. 

    Jeff Jarvis at Buzz Machine:

    Note that even Google’s cofounder, Sergey Brin, has waffled if not agonized over the company’s China policy.

    I can well be accused of being a Google fanboy; I wrote the book. But I have been consistent in my criticism of Google’s actions in China. And so now I have not choice but to become even more of a fanboy. I applaud Google for finally standing up to the Chinese dictatorship and for free speech.

    Will the Chinese people revolt at losing Google? We can only hope. Will other companies now have to hesitate before doing the dictators’ bidding? We can only hope. Will Google be punished by Wall Street? It probably will. But as I’ve argued, we should hope that Google’s pledge, Don’t be evil, will one day be chiseled over the doors of Wall Street.

    Frank Reeding at Marketing Pilgrim:

    While the Chinese people are clearly in favor of Baidu as their engine of choice, if Google were to say that they will not do business in China what kind of pressure does that place on other companies to possibly isolate the biggest and fastest developing market in the world? This could get interesting.

    From the New York Times:

    "The whole industry will become worse," says Yu Yang, chief executive of Analysys International, a Beijing-based research firm. "As for Baidu, without competition with Google, Baidu has no motivation to innovate."

    Stephen E. Arnold at Beyond Search:

    "Amidst the furor of the Google – China issue, I noticed that most of the pundits ignored the global disruptive power of a Google decision. I may be one of the few—maybe the only addled goose—pointing out that Google operates like a nation-state, not a garden variety company."

    Patrick Chovanec at Seeking Alpha

    But in China, nobody issues an ultimatum — especially not to the government — unless they are fully expecting a final and irreconcilable break. As long as you have some hope of a favorable outcome, you bite your tongue. That’s precisely why Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter have uttered not a word of complaint, even as a six-month ban on accessing those sites has left their Chinese market share in ruins. Google’s decision to publicly throw down the gauntlet — a move sure to be seen by the Chinese government as a virtual declaration of war — is a sign the company has already written off China and is ready to pack its bags.

    Philipp Lenssen at Blogoscoped quotes Google lawyer on CNBC:

    David Drummond When CNBC asked Google’s David Drummond in an interview, "Can you verify… that the cyber attacks were government based?”, David answered: "I want to be very careful here and be very clear. We’re not saying, one way or the other, whether these attacks were state-sponsored or done with any approval of the state. We can’t speculate on that at this point. What we do know is that they were highly organized, and we believe that the attacker came from China, and we know that political dissidents and people interested in human rights in China were clearly targeted here."

    As another speculative reason, Google now fighting for an uncensored Google.cn could have been part of the original plan, too: first, get into the market and find a relevant amount of users; second, potentially use that user base leverage for discussions about free speech issues.

    Rebecca MacKinnon at RConversation:

    Google’s decision was tough and is going to have a great deal of difficult fallout. Still, based on what I know, I think Google has done the right thing. They are sending a very public message – which people in China are hearing – that the Chinese government’s approach to Internet regulation is unacceptable and poisonous. They are living up to their "don’t be evil" motto – much mocked of late – and living up to their commitments to free speech and privacy as a member of the Global Network Initiative.

    The best way to keep up with the most recent commentary may be to follow a query like this on Twitter.

    Though there has already been an incredible amount of discussion on this topic, you can pretty well guarantee that it is only the beginning. As more of the story unfolds, it’s going to be quite interesting to see how the Google China situation turns out. It is big for the search industry in China, and it is big on a government level. It will also be interesting to see what to what extent the U.S. government gets involved.

    What do you think of Google’s actions? Share your thoughts in the comments.

    Related Articles:

    > Google May Quit China

    > Gmail Switches to Default Https Encryption Following Attack

    > Google Bows to Chinese Authors on Book Scanning

  • Baidu’s Stock Soars Following Google China News

    Reactions to Google’s announcement about a possible withdrawal from China have been mixed so far; there have been objections from individuals who think its absence will deprive the Chinese people of information, while others approve of what they consider a moral stand.  But Baidu’s investors probably aren’t too conflicted, as the company’s stock imitated a bottle rocket today.

    Today, Baidu’s stock gained 52.99 points, which works out to 13.71 percent.  That’s the sort of improvement many investors would be happy to see take place over a full year, especially considering how the recession has lowered expectations.

    Baidu’s stock didn’t soar in accordance with any sort of market trend, either.  The Nasdaq rose just 1.12 percent today, and the Dow gained an even less impressive 0.50 percent.  So this is just a matter of many people realizing that Baidu would perform better than ever in a Google-less China.

    Google’s stock, meanwhile, was less fortunate, sinking 0.57 percent today.  Although we should note that multiple factors could have influenced both developments.  (One more side note: the numbers in the graph are off because it covers a slightly different timeframe.)

    Anyway, it should be interesting to see how these stocks continue to fluctuate as the Google China drama plays out.  One way or another, it’s likely that a lot more money will change hands before the end.

    Related Articles:

    > Some Interesting Points About The Google China Situation

    > Google May Quit China

    > Google Bows To Chinese Authors On Book-Scanning

  • Google May Quit China

    Google May Quit China

    Google released a stunning blog post that details a "sophisticated and targeted attack" on Gmail that "resulted in the theft of intellectual property from Google".

    Google notes that the attack was not just on Google infrastructure but also on more than twenty other companies from various industries. Google states that they are working with the authorities in the U.S. and will be notifying the companies of the breaches.

    The attack, Google says, appears to be aimed at "accessing the Gmail accounts of Chines human rights activists". Google does not believe the Chinese gained that objective and states that the Chinese hackers were only able to obtain information such as subject lines and dates, not the content of the emails themselves.

    Google’s Chief Legal Office David Drummond states that "these attacks and the surveillance they have uncovered– have led us to conclude that we should review the feasibility of our business operations in China".

    Additionally, Google blogs that they "are no longer going to censor search results on Google.cn". 

    From the Official Google Blog:

    Like many other well-known organizations, we face cyber attacks of varying degrees on a regular basis. In mid-December, we detected a highly sophisticated and targeted attack on our corporate infrastructure originating from China that resulted in the theft of intellectual property from Google. However, it soon became clear that what at first appeared to be solely a security incident–albeit a significant one–was something quite different.

    First, this attack was not just on Google. As part of our investigation we have discovered that at least twenty other large companies from a wide range of businesses–including the Internet, finance, technology, media and chemical sectors–have been similarly targeted. We are currently in the process of notifying those companies, and we are also working with the relevant U.S. authorities.

    Second, we have evidence to suggest that a primary goal of the attackers was accessing the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists. Based on our investigation to date we believe their attack did not achieve that objective. Only two Gmail accounts appear to have been accessed, and that activity was limited to account information (such as the date the account was created) and subject line, rather than the content of emails themselves.

    Third, as part of this investigation but independent of the attack on Google, we have discovered that the accounts of dozens of U.S.-, China- and Europe-based Gmail users who are advocates of human rights in China appear to have been routinely accessed by third parties. These accounts have not been accessed through any security breach at Google, but most likely via phishing scams or malware placed on the users’ computers.

    We have already used information gained from this attack to make infrastructure and architectural improvements that enhance security for Google and for our users. In terms of individual users, we would advise people to deploy reputable anti-virus and anti-spyware programs on their computers, to install patches for their operating systems and to update their web browsers. Always be cautious when clicking on links appearing in instant messages and emails, or when asked to share personal information like passwords online. You can read more here about our cyber-security recommendations. People wanting to learn more about these kinds of attacks can read this U.S. government report (PDF), Nart Villeneuve’s blog andthis presentation on the GhostNet spying incident.

    We have taken the unusual step of sharing information about these attacks with a broad audience not just because of the security and human rights implications of what we have unearthed, but also because this information goes to the heart of a much bigger global debate about freedom of speech. In the last two decades, China’s economic reform programs and its citizens’ entrepreneurial flair have lifted hundreds of millions of Chinese people out of poverty. Indeed, this great nation is at the heart of much economic progress and development in the world today.

    We launched Google.cn in January 2006 in the belief that the benefits of increased access to information for people in China and a more open Internet outweighed our discomfort in agreeing to censor some results. At the time we made clear that "we will carefully monitor conditions in China, including new laws and other restrictions on our services. If we determine that we are unable to achieve the objectives outlined we will not hesitate to reconsider our approach to China."

    These attacks and the surveillance they have uncovered–combined with the attempts over the past year to further limit free speech on the web–have led us to conclude that we should review the feasibility of our business operations in China. We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn, and so over the next few weeks we will be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all. We recognize that this may well mean having to shut down Google.cn, and potentially our offices in China.

    The decision to review our business operations in China has been incredibly hard, and we know that it will have potentially far-reaching consequences. We want to make clear that this move was driven by our executives in the United States, without the knowledge or involvement of our employees in China who have worked incredibly hard to make Google.cn the success it is today. We are committed to working responsibly to resolve the very difficult issues raised.

    Posted by David Drummond, SVP, Corporate Development and Chief Legal Officer

  • Google Bows to Chinese Authors on Book Scanning

    Google is used to coming under fire from different groups when it comes to its Google Books project. Most recently, the fire has come from the China Writers Association, which has over 8,000 members.

    The group complained that Google was scanning and uploading its books without permission from authors. According to a Bloomberg report:

    The U.S. Internet operator will "respect the wishes of any Chinese author who hasn’t authorized their books to be scanned," it said in a Jan. 9 letter to the China Writers Association and posted on the group’s Web site. It also included an apology for "inadequate communication" with Chinese authors. Google spokeswoman Jennie Johnson confirmed the contents of the letter sent by Erik Hartmann, chief of Google Books in Asia.

    Google should submit proposals to compensate Chinese authors whose works it included without approval and immediately stop the practice, the association said in November. The operator of the world’s biggest Internet search engine has boosted Chinese content, including to its Google Books digital library, as it seeks to catch Baidu in a market with more Internet users than the U.S. population.

    Google Books

    Google said in a statement, "We have a long-standing policy of honoring authors’ wishes, and authors or publishers who wish to exclude their book may do so at any time. Google Books is fully compliant with U.S. and Chinese law."

    Google Books suffered a defeat in a French Court in mid-December when the company was found guilty of copyright violations. That court ordered Google to stop scanning books, remove information from its database, and pay substantial fines. After that, a court in China heard a case from Author Mian Mian, who also accused Google of copyright infringement. The date is still pending on the continuation of that.
     

    Related Articles:

    > Google Books Suffers Defeat In French Court

    > Revised Google Books Settlement Still Has Critics

    > (Another) New Google Books Deadline Set

  • Hulu Investor May Help Launch Similar Site In China

    An investment group with significant ties to Hulu may now be ready to help a similar site launch in China.  A report’s connected Providence Equity Partners to both Baidu and a new online video destination.

    Let’s start with a little history.  Once upon a time (or in mid-2007, to be more exact), Providence Equity Partners invested $100 million in Hulu, giving it a ten percent stake that it holds to this day.  Providence Equity Partners has also established links to entertainment entities like Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Warner Music Group, and the Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network.

    It seems to have a knack for investing in important organizations, then.

    Which might bring us to its latest undertaking.  Reuters reported this morning that Providence Equity Partners and Baidu will "set up an online video channel in China," and that the pair "will team up to create a fund to buy licensed content to show on the channel."

    Also, "The channel . . . is set to launch in the first quarter."

    So it shouldn’t be long before more details surface and we can make guesses about whether this video site is likely to sink or float.

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