A Google search feature was reportedly blocked in China on Thursday. Google users in China were unable to use Google's search suggestions feature, as the company awaits Beijing's decision on whether to renew its operating license amid tensions over censorship.
According to Google spokeswoman Jessica Powell, the search queries produced by Google Suggest are being blocked for mainland users in China. Normal searches that do not use query suggestions remain unaffected.
Google's relations with Beijing have been tense since the US-based search giant announced in January that it no longer wanted to cooperate with Chinese Web filtering following hacking attacks. Google closed its China-based search engine in March and began routing users to its unfiltered Hong Kong site. The company recently stopped automatic switching following objections from the Chinese government. Chinese government officials had said that if Google continues redirecting users, the company's Internet Content Provider licence will not be renewed.
The loss of its Chinese license would set back Google's efforts to tap into the world's most populous Internet market of nearly 400 million users. Web surfers can still reach the Chinese-language Hong Kong site by typing in its address, but industry analysts predict that are likely to switch to Chinese competitors such as Baidu Inc.
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