Follow the money: China’s ban on Google

Posted by anthonykuo , Jun, 2009 @ 11:43 am

chinese internet cafe, google banned from china
Google has yet again done something to bring down the ire of the Chinese media officials. The Chinese government has accused Google of “spreading profanity” (aka porn), and yesterday night, cut off access to the service entirely.

Now that’s twice China has used pornography as a catalyst for going after something on the Internet, the other time being its recent requirement for computer makers to pre-install the “Green Dam Youth Escort” software, which supposedly filters out pornography. The Green Dam software has come under widespread criticism, with critics saying that China will use it to censor the internet more tightly, and analysts saying that the software is vulnerable and pirated.

But why is China going after Google once again? I don’t think it’s just about the porn. For that matter, I don’t think it’s just about censorship of politically sensitive things, either (although it certainly has a part to play). I think it’s about money and Chinese nationalist pride. The Chinese rival to Google, so to speak, is Baidu, the local search engine. Widespread blocking of Google would force users to use Baidu, thereby benefiting the domestic business. CCTV, the state TV broadcaster, has also heavily criticized Google. But follow the money trail. CCTV depends on Baidu for a relatively large portion of revenue.

The Chinese government has long had a hand in the burgeoning economy. In the name of becoming the largest economic powerhouse in the world, Beijing has often forced companies to fold in favor of stronger companies; villagers are routinely uprooted for capital construction projects. McDonald’s branches are shut down and bulldozed without warning to keep foreign interference out. So I don’t think it comes as a surprise that China would find an excuse to block Google in order to promote Baidu.

Tags: baidu, cctv, censorship, china, Google, government, green dam, porn