Google's Pull-out from China

Google's cessation of censorship in China is an attempt to return to its "Do No Evil" days. Redirecting users to its Hong Kong service and announcing the termination of its Faustian bargain with the Chinese regime has very little to do with the search business. This is more an attempt to reclaim the company's moral high ground and make strong allies for fights looming in the distance.

Remember Google voluntarily agreed to censor content in China. When it launched google.cn in 2006, the company agreed to self-censor with three important caveats: one, that it would disclose to users whenever search results were altered; two, that no services involving personal data would be offered in China; and three, that the unfiltered google.com service would not be terminated.

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