ISEdb.COM

It’s been two weeks since Google announced that it may pull out from China. The news hit the internet running, and has been fast buzzed about since Google announced it was considering such a drastic move.

The move, for anyone that has been living in a cave for the past two weeks, is that Google has threatened to pull out of one of the world’s largest internet markets (China) due to a security breach in December. Google said that unless China relaxes its strict censorship laws, the internet giant will be closing its doors there.

But it’s been some time since that announcement: what’s happened since then? Well, a few things.

China Stands Firm

China has, since Google’s announcement, denied that any of the accused cyber crimes took place. It also defended its extensive censorship, saying that there was little room to compromise in the areas of internet security. “Properly guiding Internet opinion is a major measure for protecting Internet information security,” said Minister Wang Chen of China’s State Council Information Office.

China has, according to the New York Times, approached the issue as a business dispute, rather than a political one that could affect its relations with the west.

Google Boss Schmidt Replies that Google Would Like to Stay

Google would like to stay, that is, if China relaxes its censorship policies. Google’s Chief Executive, Eric Schmidt, said at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland that Google hopes to apply some negotiation or pressure to make things better for the Chinese people.

Fake Google Appears in China

Google may be on the way out in China, but Goojje is on the way in. This knock-off site appeared in China in mid-January only one day after Google announced its threat to pull out of the country. The site looks exactly like Google, but is, of course, not the real thing, and is in no way associated with Google. Youtubecn.com also popped up, offering videos from the real Youtube.

Twitter May Be Blocked in China, Too

Evan Williams, co-founder of Twitter, announced recently that he’d been told his microblogging service was partially blocked in China. However, Williams was quoted as saying there were ways for users to get around such firewalls, though he denies that Twitter has any involvement in circumventing such obstacles.

China Reports that it Won’t Limit Use of Android

The Chinese government recently reported that it would not be limiting the use of Google’s Android operating system within the country.

Not only that, but it seems China may come around in the end. According to the Wall Street Journal: A Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information’s comments “suggest the government might be open to letting parts of Google’s business continue to function in China despite that announcement, which Google has said might require it to close its China offices.”