Google's China headquarters, Beijing AP Photo/Alexander F. Yuan
Thursday is shaping up to be a major news day and the latest in a string of events following last week’s announcement that Google is threatening to walk out on China. With the Mountain View search giant expected to show superb growth in Q4 -to the tune of $4.9 billion- and Secretary of State Hilary Clinton speaking on the topic of Internet freedom (9:30am ET, to be streamed live at the State Dept. website), reporters will be out in full force and the blogger’s will be typing nearly as fast as the Google spiders (ok, maybe not quite that fast).
Secretary Clinton’s speech will address Internet rights in the aftermath a week's worth of debate on the topic. Google’s reevaluation of its censorship practices followed by its findings that a sophisticated would-be cyber attack emanated out of China has elicited a broad spectrum of responses, many of which are in China, not surprisingly. While the Communist Party of China was mum’s the word in the immediate aftermath of Google’s January 12 announcement, both the government and media are now playing their hand as the poker game escalates. Most recently, the People’s Republic of China has suggested that Google’s move is a conspiracy led by the White House.
On Tuesday, the Xinhua News Agency, official news outlet of China, reported statements by the Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu which reiterate the Chinese Internet doctrine in the same way as they have in the past. “Foreign companies in China should respect the laws and regulations, respect the public interest of Chinese people and China’s culture and customs and shoulder due social responsibilities,” Zhaoxu said. He went on to say that China encourages “the use and development of the Internet” and will welcome investors who conduct business “according to the law.”
To top off the week's events across the Pacific, China's own leading search engine, Baidu, filed a lawsuit against Register.com in a New York seeking damages from the domain registering provider after being a victim of a cyber attack on, of all dates, January 12.
In much of the West, the response to Google’s move has elicited a different response. While the U.S. Congress has long rallied in favor of opposition to foreign Internet censors (remember the Global Online Freedom Act?), the Obama Administration has taken a decidedly more diplomatic approach to the censorship dilemma until last week. Now the administration seems poised to rally behind Google and has requested that China conduct a full-scale, transparent investigation of the Google attack.
Microsoft announced today an emergency patch to fend off possible attacks such as the one Google experienced. The Redmond, WA, company has been one of many that have resisted comment on Google's ultimatum to China with Reuter's reporting that Microsoft will not exit China- potentially lucrative breeding grounds for its Bing engine. Other companies including Silicon Valley’s Adobe have shied away from comment as well but are taking a hard look at their own security in the aftermath of the cyber attacks.
Google delayed plans to introduce their android phone in China, stirring around the pot once more. The company’s 2009 Q4 announcement tomorrow is expected to top Wall Street’s expectations. With many analysts seeing little to no impact of the China saga on Google’s immediate finances, investors and analysts alike are keen to hear what Google’s next move may be in China and how that will play out in the long run.
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