It seems that Chinese censorship and demands made on foreign companies doing business in China go hand and hand. The more business, the more demands. But it appears that Google at least has had enough.
Google has attracted criticism for censoring search queries related to minor things like political liberty and such. Apparently Google was willing hold still for it even as China’s own search engine Baidu continued to rack up market gains. When Chinese hackers launched a concerted attack on gmail, however, that was the final straw. Gmail is, of course, widely used by Chinese dissidents and the system’s privacy is a global concern.
Chinese hacking and exploitation attempts are more or less continuous and growing in sophistication. In a recent open-source report done for the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, Northrop-Grumman has described the Chinese government’s sophisticated efforts to breach government and commercial networks.
If you’re, say, a law firm suing the Chinese government for IP infringement, expect a less than friendly cyber-visit from the Chinese government or its surrogates.
For a humorous look at what will happen to Baidu’s sleek design if Google leaves China, go here.
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