Google rejects licence reports
Beijing - Internet giant Google, which has agreed to block politically sensitive items on its new China site, rejected Chinese newspaper reports on Tuesday that the new platform does not have the correct licence.
The Beijing News reported on Tuesday that Google.cn, the recently launched service that accommodates China's censorship demands, "has not obtained the ICP (internet content provider) licence needed to operate internet content services in China".
The ministry of information industry, which regulates China's internet, was "concerned" and investigating the problem, the paper said.
"Under China's policy framework for the internet, Google.cn is clearly unlawful," said the China Business Times.
A Google spokesperson said the newspaper reports were groundless. The company's licensing was "totally within the legal framework", she said.
It's not unusual
Google used the ICP licence of another, local company, Ganji.com, under a business partnership - a practice followed by many international internet companies in China, the spokesperson said. She requested her name not be used.
"It's not unusual for companies to do this," she said, noting that Google.cn notifies users of its licence number at the bottom of its search screen.
"If we had anything to hide, we wouldn't have posted it."
Yahoo Inc and EBay Inc have similar licence arrangements.
The spokesperson said the ministry of information industry had not contacted it about any licence problems.
A spokesman for the ministry was not available for comment. But another official in his office said he had neither seen the report nor heard of any problems with Google.cn's licence.
Lashing out at 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 signed deals so 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 paper with a sometimes nationalist slant, blasted Google for even telling users 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".
The Beijing News reported on Tuesday that Google.cn, the recently launched service that accommodates China's censorship demands, "has not obtained the ICP (internet content provider) licence needed to operate internet content services in China".
The ministry of information industry, which regulates China's internet, was "concerned" and investigating the problem, the paper said.
"Under China's policy framework for the internet, Google.cn is clearly unlawful," said the China Business Times.
A Google spokesperson said the newspaper reports were groundless. The company's licensing was "totally within the legal framework", she said.
It's not unusual
Google used the ICP licence of another, local company, Ganji.com, under a business partnership - a practice followed by many international internet companies in China, the spokesperson said. She requested her name not be used.
"It's not unusual for companies to do this," she said, noting that Google.cn notifies users of its licence number at the bottom of its search screen.
"If we had anything to hide, we wouldn't have posted it."
Yahoo Inc and EBay Inc have similar licence arrangements.
The spokesperson said the ministry of information industry had not contacted it about any licence problems.
A spokesman for the ministry was not available for comment. But another official in his office said he had neither seen the report nor heard of any problems with Google.cn's licence.
Lashing out at 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 signed deals so 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 paper with a sometimes nationalist slant, blasted Google for even telling users 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".
