By Charles kulwa n reg no 42688

Google and the people’s republic of china

 From its founding in 1999, google the world leading internet search provider initially served Chinese inherent users with a Chinese language version of google.com that could easily be reached by users in china in 2002; the company learned that the site was frequently unavailable to Chinese users. Many search queries, including queries on political sensitive issues and human rights, were also filtered out or censored in 2006, Google then decided, after consultation with its stakeholders to take a different strategy. 

The company launched a new country specific website, google.cn, which, while subject to Chinese self censored requirements, would nonetheless expand access to information for Chinese users. As Elliot Schrage Google’s vice president for corporate communication and public affairs explained to the u.s government at the time, the thinking behind this was that the original strategy was largely ineffective because of lack of access and the active filtering and censorship. Besides the commercial benefits, the new site, he explained, would also contribute to Google’s vision of making the world a better place

Google's matters are doing be evil. Which refers to ensuring that the company’s decision does not knowingly harm anyone. In more positive terms, the company tries to make the world a better, more informed and freer place by expanding access to information to anyone who want it. In china, Google was also hoping to contribute to this kind of positive social change; users would be fully notified of blocked content, their privacy including email would be fully protected, and they would generally be able to access all but a handful of politically sensitive subjects. The backdrop to Google decision for launching google.cn was the exploisive growth of internet in china

The company recognized that the internet was transforming china for the better, and as part of this development, Google.cn helps accelerate and design these positive trends towards social and political change. A few years later, however, in December 2009, Google announced that it would reconsider its presence in china, and that it may even pull out of the country altogether. Its server and private email accounts of users had been targeted and attacked from within china. One of the primary goals of these cyber attacks was to access the Gmail account of Chinese human’s rights

Activist the attacks and surveillance that they have uncovered, as well as Chinese attempts to further limits free speech on web, have led the company to reconsider its position. Google decided that the arrangement with Google.cn did not work and the company started to discuss with the Chinese government the possibility of operating an unfiltered search engine, if at all. Initially the company had taken a pragmatic approach, accommodating efforts, 

Google got a lot of criticism for this at the time, with journalist, industry analysts, government officials and users questioning the company’s ability to uphold its moral stance in the face of commercial opportunities in a fast growing market