Ren Media
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Ren Media
+44 208 4468853
Published on 9th July 2010
It was announced this Friday by Reuters that the Chinese authorities have renewed Google’s licence to operate their Google.cn website in China upon the agreement that Google would stop redirecting users to the uncensored Hong Kong-based search page.
While the China market generates only a small fraction ($300 - $600 million) of Google’s $24 billion annual revenue, the potential growth in revenue from doing business in the world’s largest internet market are staggering.
"China has renewed our license," a Google spokeswoman told Reuters. "We are very pleased that the government has renewed our ICP license and we look forward to continuing to provide web search and local products to our users in China."
While the debate over internet censorship laws in the People’s Republic of China still remain, Google has swiftly steadied its future in the Asian market by compromising on censorship to secure their future with 400 million Chinese users; however, it may be a while before Google is on China’s good side again.
So what has Google’s defiance in January cost Google in the long-run? What concessions have they made to secure their future with China?
An official confirmation from Google is still pending but likely to be announced on Google’s blog shortly.
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Update: Google's response "We are very pleased that the government has renewed our ICP license and we look forward to continuing to provide web search and local products to our users in China." via Official Google Blog
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Update 2
Chinese government has confirmed the renewal. Reuters
