Google’s SVP of corporate development and chief legal officer David Drummond wrote in the company blog that a “highly sophisticated and targeted attack on our corporate infrastructure originating from China” was detected last month, with “evidence to suggest that a primary goal of the attackers was accessing the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists”.
This breach has prompted Google to “review the feasibility of our business operations in China”, he continued. “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 recognise that this may well mean having to shut down Google.cn, and potentially our offices in China.”
Google has been in China since 2006, and since then it has failed to build a dominant share of the mainland search market. Google China currently claims roughly 30 per cent of the search market, while industry leader Baidu claims approximately 65 per cent.
However, given that China has more than 360 million internet users — amounting to approximately 27 per cent of the country’s total population — the country represents a significant opportunity for any internet company. According to industry analysts, Google’s message is a bold gambit that may not give it what it wants: an independent operation in China.
Duncan Clark, chairman of BDA China Limited, noted that this will effectively act as a test for China to decipher how serious the Government is in investing in foreign companies and its research — “and if it doesn’t, then Google could be the first out”.
CEO of Wolf Group Asia David Wolf stated that Google is merely “throwing down the gauntlet” and reinforcing its 'Do No Evil' mantra for allies worldwide. “That’s the impression it wants us all to have and it’s looking to make friends across the globe. When it all comes down to it, the rest of the world is still more important to Google than China”.
