Call 03332 207 677
Google Threatens China Walkout
Google have always had a strained relationship with China. With Government censorship rife and state search engine Baidu more popular with users, it has been a difficult market for the Internet giant to crack.
Today Google have announced that they will no longer be self-censoring their results (as evidenced by the hugely controversial inclusion of the illegal image of the ‘Tank Man’ in the Tiananmen Square protests) and are considering a full withdrawal from the Chinese market.
This unprecedented move comes in the wake of user accounts being hacked from within the country; whilst not openly accusing the Government, Google clearly take this violation of its users’ information extremely seriously, so much so that they can afford to walk away from one of the most lucrative, or at least potentially lucrative, world markets.
The news was greeted with a fall of 1.1% in Google’s share price. With Government interference a way of life for most businesses in the communist nation, some might question the intelligence of such a move. China is also one of the most populated nations on earth accounting for 20% of all inhabitants (around 1.35 billion people…according to Google) and is one of the fastest growing economies too, making it rich pickings for a variety of foreign business interests.
Whether or not Google leave the Chinese market, or indeed are forced out following their anti-censorship stance, they have probably sent a very positive message to the rest of the world. Firstly, they take invasion of their users’ privacy extremely seriously, and secondly, they won’t conform with unethical practices, even if it is to the detriment of their income and stock value.
Google often take a lot of criticism for their monopoly-like stranglehold on the search market, but in this instance, they could well be showing another, more ethical side of their business; something which could thaw the freeze that has been shown towards them in some sectors. However, I wouldn’t expect this announcement to be the last we hear of it, so we’ll be keeping a keen eye on any future developments here.
Share this post
About the author
Lucy Griffiths
Lucy is an Internet Search Specialist focusing and working with clients on Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and Pay-Per-Click (PPC) strategies.
- Pingback: google将从”中国队“”被退役“再追踪 | 文通博客
I think this is the right move by Google.
It’s a shame they ever agreed to censor search results in order to enter the Chinese market. There should be no room for that in a global community.
However, the more interesting part is the protection of user accounts. Google are offering more and more services outside of search and most of them hinge on individuals or indeed businesses providing sensitive information. Therefore, user trust is a huge issue for their growth.
As a customer of Google I am always pleased with the quality of their software and services, but as they enter or grow within more markets I am slightly wary of them storing more and more of my personal information. Therefore, this move in China to protect user data sends a very positive message to me and, I suspect, many more of their customers worldwide.
- Pingback: Google and the Chinese Conspiracy
- Pingback: Google Readying China Withdrawal
What do you think?
Latest Posts
Samantha Noble Is #6 Of The Top 25 Most Influential PPC Experts
Our friends at PPC Hero recently released their annual list of the top 25 most influential PPC experts and I’m delighted to announce that our Client Strategy Director Samantha Noble came in at sixth place. Everyone at Koozai knows what a PPC superstar Sam is so we couldn’t be more proud of her.
Virtual Insanity: How VR Is Taking Over The World
A few months ago, I drove a scooter through a cartoon market whilst being chased by a giant eagle. I raced through the streets and burst through various vibrant shopping stalls, occasionally looking over my shoulder to check whether the ginormous purple bird was gaining on me. Before you ask, no, I wasn’t high, and […]
Koozai Shortlisted For Even More Awards
Here at Koozai we put a lot of work into our clients’ campaigns so we always love it when we see our team’s effort being rewarded with not one, not two, not even three or four – but five of our award nominations being shortlisted.The Drum Search Award Winners 2016 Best Retail Ecommerce SEO Campaign
We’ve needed to have a shuffle of our awards cabinet as we’ve got another award to add to our arsenal. You may have seen from our Twitter posts just how excited we were to have been shortlisted for The Drum Search Awards 2016. Well, we are now super proud to announce that we have won Best […]
How To Hijack Hashtags
Piggybacking on news stories isn’t exactly breaking the mould. PR’s have been doing it for years. When executed well it can be incredibly successful for your brand. So how about hijacking hashtags? Can this work for your brand?Dominating the Paid Media Universe #TheInbounder
Today I had the honour of speaking at The Inbounder conference in Valencia on the subject of paid media and how we as advertisers should be utilising as many of the relevant platforms as possible to channel our audiences through the purchase funnel.Win A Ticket To The Inbounder Conference 2016 Worth €400!
You heard us right, Koozai are giving one lucky person the chance to attend Europe’s biggest digital marketing event of the year, The Inbounder Global Conference 2016.
31 Things We Learned When Majestic’s Dixon Jones Visited Koozai
We recently had the pleasure of welcoming Majestic’s Dixon Jones (@Dixon_Jones) to the #KoozAcademy to give us a complete understanding of what is possibly one of the most important tools for SEO and the content needed for researching and monitoring websites.Samantha Noble to talk PPC Funnels at The Inbounder Conference 2016
Good news at Koozai HQ. I’m pleased to announce that on the weekend of 19-20 May I will be attending and speaking at The Inbounder Global Conference. This year’s conference will be taking place in Valencia and will be their biggest yet with over 800 early bird tickets already sold.Koozai and Papa John’s Shortlisted for 2 #EUSearchAwards
We are extremely excited to announce that we have been shortlisted, not once but twice, for this year’s EU Search Awards! The two categories are Best Use of Search for Retail and Best Local Campaign. Both of these nominations have been for our ongoing and dedicated work with Papa John’s, the highly successful pizza delivery […]
The Ultimate Guide To Using SISTRIX For SEO Success
SISTRIX encompasses so many features that I could probably write about it from a range of different perspectives, but today I’ve looked at some of its key elements from an SEO standpoint. If you’re looking to compare your site’s visibility within the SERPs to that of your competitors’ sites while also monitoring keyword changes and […]
6 Comments