Google denies license problem in China

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2006/02/22

到底谁在玩真的？！

By Reuters
Published: February 21, 2006, 5:00 AM PST

update Search giant Google rejected Chinese newspaper reports on Tuesday that the company does not have the correct license to operate in that country.

The Beijing News reported on Tuesday that Google.cn, the recently launched service that accommodates China's censorship demands, has not obtained the Internet content provider (ICP) license needed to operate in China.

The Ministry of Information Industry, which regulates China's Internet, was "concerned" and investigating the problem, the newspaper said.

"Under China's policy framework for the Internet, Google.cn is clearly unlawful," stated another newspaper, the China Business Times.

A Google representative said the newspaper reports were groundless. "Google has the required license to operate the Google.cn service in China," the representative said in an e-mailed statement.

Google used the ICP license of another, local company, Ganji.com, under a business partnership--a practice followed by many international Internet companies in China. The license number is displayed at the bottom of the Google.cn screen.

Yahoo and eBay have similar license arrangements.

The official representative for the Ministry of Information Industry was not available for comment. But another official said, "We're aware of the problem. It was raised long ago."

He said the ministry would offer a statement on the issue some time later, possibly on Wednesday, and refused to say anything more about the matter or whether officials had raised it with Google.

The Chinese government blocks foreign investors from directly operating Internet services in China.

Foreign investors have usually become minority shareholders in joint ventures with local Internet companies or have signed deals so that the foreign investor receives payment for technical support to a Chinese client.

Google has weathered recent criticism from United States lawmakers and Chinese dissidents for accepting Chinese censors' demands that its new Chinese service block links about sensitive topics, such as the 1989 anti-government protests in Tiananmen Square.

But the China Business Times, a business newspaper with a sometimes nationalist slant, blasted Google for even telling people that links are censored.

"Does a business operating in China need to constantly tell customers that it's abiding by the laws of the land?" it said, adding that Google had "incited" a debate about censorship. The paper likened Google to "an uninvited guest" telling a dinner host "the dishes don't suit his taste, but he's willing to eat them as a show of respect to the host."

freemanwqa 发表于 2006-02-22 13:50 阅读(727) 评论( 2) 引用( 0) 我看
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2006/02/22