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Google Blog: Google in China

google.cn



	Shi Tao


	Illegally providing state secrets


	November 23, 2014

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Googling Google.cn: A Closer Look

On January 25, 2006, Google Inc. launched google.cn, a Chinese-based version of its search engine which filters and self-censors results from searches on terms deemed politically sensitive by the Chinese authorities.

HRIC's comparative survey takes a brief look at the results of queries on the search indexes of google.cn and other google.com search engines.

"We don't want to risk becoming irrelevant or useless due to the way that our content is blocked or filtered currently... We feel it is a step forward. Not a big step forward but a step forward. We understand that many people will find the decision either puzzling or objectionable."

– Andrew McLaughlin,
Google Senior Policy Counsel[2]

Google in China: "In response to local law, regulation, and policy"

Google had previously served Chinese speaking users through a Chinese language interface available on Google.com which did not actively filter search results, but was frequently unavailable.

Access to both google.com and its Chinese language interface is routinely blocked for users within China, as documented in HRIC's Internet cafe field survey, conducted in the summer of 2005, and the Open Net Initiative's Internet Filtering in China in 2004-2005: A Country Study.

Citing the short term strategy of entry into the huge Chinese market first and then waiting for changes, Google has chosen selective compliance with comply with Chinese law. Although never explicitly identified, Google may be referring to a restrictive body of Internet regulations, stating that "in order to operate from China, we have removed some content from the search results available on Google.cn in response to local law, regulation or policy."[1]

However, other relevant Chinese laws that should be recognized include provisions in the Constitution of the People's Republic of China establishing that "citizens of the People's Republic of China enjoy freedom of speech, of the press, of assembly, of association, of procession and of demonstration" (Article 35) and "freedom of religious belief" (Article 36).

The Constitution further states that "the freedom and privacy of correspondence of citizens of the People's Republic of China are protected by law" (Article 40) and that "citizens of the People's Republic of China have the right to criticize and make suggestions to any state organ or functionary" (Article 41).

The 2004 amendments to the constitution amended Article 33, adding that "the state respects and protects human rights."

In 2002, Google acknowledged that certain Web sites were removed from google.de (Germany) and google.fr (France) search indexes in order to avoid conflict with local laws.

A study by the Berkman Center at Harvard found that dozens of pro-Nazi and other controversial Web sites were filtered.

Filtering the Searches

As is Google's practice in its French and German search engines, searches on terms with results that have been removed include a small note at the bottom of the results page:

据当地法律法规和政策，部分搜索结果未予显示。

The above text translates to:

In accordance with domestic law and policy, some search results have not been shown.

The use by Internet search engines like Google of this kind of self-censorship technology enables and validates the Chinese government's control of information, ensuring that history and current events are understood only through a government-sanctioned prism.

Mainland Chinese users searching for information on subjects that have arbitrarily been deemed sensitive (for exmaple, the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, Falungong, Tibet, certain grassroots issues, etc), are presented with skewed, government-regulated results.

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ENDNOTES

[1] Eric Auchard and Doug Young, "Google to censor sensitive terms in China," Yahoo News, 25 January 2006, available at http://news.yahoo.com/...

[2] Jane Wakefield, "Google faces China challenges," BBC, 25 January 2006, available at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4647468.stm

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