29 June 2010 | Author: D. Warburton Search Copywriter

Google tries another 'new approach' to China

The Google-China debacle over web privacy issues was believed to have ended when the search giant moved its China operations to Hong Kong in March - but in a new development, Google may now face closure of its China portal completely if it is unable to reach an agreement with mainland internet authorities.

Google is now facing time pressure to resolve its issues with Beijing over censorship of search results before the end of its ICP license, which expires on 30 June. Without such a license, the Guardian reports that the commercial domain of Google.cn could effectively expire, causing the search engine to "go dark" across the nation.

Users visiting Google's simplified Chinese language portal at google.com.hk will now be redirected to a landing page that provides a link to the Hong Kong search site. While some users are being redirected already, all users are expected to be taken to the new site over the next few days, which the company believes should allow it to continue operations in China.

"This redirect [to Hong Kong], which offers unfiltered search in simplified Chinese, has been working well for our users and for Google," said chief legal officer David Drummond on the Google blog.

"However, it's clear from conversations we have had with Chinese government officials that they find the redirect unacceptable - and that if we continue redirecting users our internet content provider license will not be renewed.

"That's a prospect dreaded by many of our Chinese users, who have been vocal about their desire to keep Google.cn alive."

Hong Kong is governed by different laws to mainland China, and even in the present situation, users of google.com.hk on the mainland are unable to access 'sensitive' search terms. With the clock ticking for the expiration of its Chinese license, Google spokesperson Peter Barron admitted: "Only time will tell whether we will be allowed to continue."

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