Google’s departure from China is almost certain

Google is likely to shut down its Chinese search engine. According to a British newspaper, that is ‘99.9% sure’. The company would have decided to do so because China does not want to make concessions in censoring the search engine.

That reports the Financial Times, citing anonymous sources. In January, it was announced that Google was considering leaving China; the company would no longer cooperate with the censorship imposed by the Chinese government. The Chinese government is demanding that Google remove sensitive search results from its search index. In addition, the Chinese government is said to be behind attacks on Gmail accounts of human rights activists. Later, the departure plans were denied; the company would enter into negotiations with the Chinese.

However, it was announced on Friday that the Chinese government is increasing the pressure on Google: the search company had to “comply with the law or accept the consequences”. Negotiations have reached an impasse, according to the Financial Times, with Google now “99.9% certain” plans to close its search engine operations in China. The company would like to try to keep its other Chinese activities going, but executives fear that it will not work, according to the newspaper.

Google could make a decision soon, but it will likely take some time to chart a path for ending its operations. For example, it would like to take measures to prevent Chinese Google employees from having to deal with retaliation from the Chinese government.