2. Google, the leading Internet search engine company in the world, entered
the Chinese market in early 2000 by creating a Chinese-language version
of its home page, google.com, that was located in the United States but
that could handle search requests from China. In this way, the technology
was not subject to Chinese censorship laws as the facilities were not
within China’s physical boundaries, and Google did not need a license
from the Chinese government to operate its business. In 2002, the
Chinese version of Google was shut down by the Chinese users and
completely inaccessible for Chinese colleges and universities.
3. By 2005, the Chinese search engine company Baidu emerged as the leading
Internet search company in China.
4. To compete with Baidu, Google decided in 2006 to launch a Chinese
website (www.google.cn) and agreed to censor its content enforced by
means of filters known as “The Great Firewall of China.”
“Harmful” content included material concerning democracy (e.g.
freedom), religious cults (e.g. Falun Gong), or anti-government protests
(e.g. Tiananmen Square). Google received much criticism from human
rights advocates because it censored information such as human rights.
A moral question in here whether Google’s slogan “Don’t be Evil” (“It’s
about providing our users unbiased access to information”) and their
mission statement “Google’s mission is to organize the world’s
information and make it universally accessible and useful” have been
consistently followed. By censoring information, one could argue that
Google has strayed from dedication to helping every user get
unrestricted access to content on the Internet. Google admitted that the
launching of google.cn was problematic with respect to their mission. In
the words of Schrage, Google’s vice president of Global Communications
and Public Affairs:
5. “[Google, Inc. , faced a choice to] compromise our mission by failing to serve our users
in China or compromise our mission by entering China and complying with Chinese
laws that require us to censor search results… Self-censorship, like which we are now
required to perform in China, is something that conflicts, deeply with our core
principles… This was not something we did enthusiastically or something we’re proud
of at all.”
On March 22, 2010 after a cyber attack on Google’s servers and increased demands
for censoring , Google decided no longer to censor its search results. In the words of
David Drummond, senior vice president of Google Corporate Development and Chief
Legal Officer: “On January 12, we announced… that Google and more than 20 other
US companies had been the victims of a sophisticated cyber attack originating from
China, and that during our investigation into these attacks we had uncovered evidence
to suggest that the Gmail accounts of dozens of human rights activists connected with
China were being routinely accessed by third parties, most likely via phishing scams or
malware placed on their computers. We also made clear that these attacks and the
surveillance they uncovered – combined with attempts over the last year to further limit
free speech on the web in China including the persistent blocking of websites such as
Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Google Docs and Blogger – had led us to conclude that
we could no longer continue censoring our results on Google.cn. So earlier today we
stopped censoring our search services… on Google.cn. Users visiting Google.cn are
now being redirected to Google.com.hk, where we are offering uncensored search in
simplified Chinese, specifically designed for users in mainland China and delivered via
our servers.
12. People may click the two cartoon policemen to enter the cyber space
(http://66110.qzone.qq.com, http://777110.qzone.qq.com ) of two virtual cops and
ask questions about information safety. Real policemen will answer their questions
immediately.
Internet users may also learn information about the Internet laws and regulations
and some typical Internet criminal cases from these two virtual policemen.
“The two dummy policemen were made to remind Netizens the Internet is protected
by the law. People should pay attention to their behavior when they are surfi ng on
the Net,” a senior offi cial of the Shenzhen cyber police told China Youth Daily.
“ChaCha and JingJing”
Cyber Police to Guard all
Shenzhen Websites
Shenzhen police plan to
equip all Shenzhen
Websites and electronic
bulletin board systems with
two virtual policemen icons
on the main pages to
maintain order in cyber
space.
16. Objectives
~ Examine the reasons for
media censorship in China
and the methods used to
filter searches.
~ Understand the business
and regulatory problems
faced by multinational
companies in China.
17. ~ Evaluate the growth
opportunities of the Internet
businesses in China.
~ Analyze Google's
operations in China and the
reasons that led to the loss in
its market share.
20. ~ well known and widely used
that it has been included in the
Merriam Webster Collegiate
Dictionary and the Oxford
English Dictionary as a transitive
verb "to Google“.
21. ~ Google offers many of its
products and services at no-cost to
the average user. They are able to
deliver advertising content to a
tremendous number of consumers
around the world, across a wide
range of demographics.
22.
23. ~ Their platform is ideal for
advertising purposes, as customers
have to input what they are in
search of, which in turn allows
Google to charge more for
advertisements.
27. ~ Google offers many services:
Android, search, e-mail, photo
and video sharing, Google drive,
YouTube, Google maps, and many
other services for free, and these
services cost a lot of money and
labor to update.
28.
29. Google's Code of Conduct states that it
openly shares confidential company
information across the organization.
With more than 20,000 employees
around the world, openly sharing
confidential information within the
organization presents considerable
risks to the company. Leaks of
confidential information, intentional or
otherwise, are significantly more
difficult to control when thousands of
employees are privy to such data.
32. ~ If Google could handle both the
hardware and software sides of
the Android devices, like Apple
does with its iOS and iPhone,
Google would rake in much
greater profits.
33.
34. ~ Google has large database of
free-to-read books, provided
through the Google Books
service. This service could be
supplemented with pay-to-read
books, creating an additional
revenue stream for the company.
35.
36. ~ Just recently Google acquired
Motorola Mobility, and with it the
company's large portfolio of
intellectual property; but the true
opportunity is found in rumors
that Google is planning to sell
Android devices directly to the
consumer.
40. ~ Leaking of confidential
company information can put the
future of new Google products and
services at risk. The more data
competitors have about Google's
plans and future product lines, the
more likely they are to gain a
competitive advantage in the
marketplace.
41.
42. Alternative Course of Action
• Inculturate code.
• Make the Company Code Consistent with
Chinese Laws.
• Align code of company with Chinese concepts
and slogans of key government officials.
• Incorporate References to Global Standards
Embraced by the Chinese.
43. • Publish the Code in Bilingual Format.
• Introduce the code in the Chinese way.
• Do Whistle-blowing the Chinese Way.
• Extending the Code to Business Partners.
44. Conclusions
- We conclude that Google should stayed in
China. China's market is a huge investment for
its shareholders.
45. Recommendations
- The alternative actions recommended is to
shape the company's code to fit China. To
adjust and adapt to local norms.
- Google can work with multi-stake holder
technology association in order to ensure the
best standards in Internet and filtering policy
across borders.
