Internet search services provider Google, Inc., US, has announced plans to stop redirecting users of the Google.cn site to its Hong Kong page. Since the company's January announcement that it was not willing to censor results on Google.cn, it has been automatically redirecting everyone using Google.cn to Google.com.hk. This redirect, which offers unfiltered search in simplified Chinese, was working well for users and for Google. However, Chinese government officials have said that the redirect is unacceptable, and if Google continues redirecting users, the company's Internet Content Provider licence will not be renewed.
Instead of automatically redirecting all users, Google has now started taking a small percentage of them to a landing page on Google.cn that links to Google.com.hk, where users can conduct web search or continue to use Google.cn services. This approach is seen to ensure commitment not to censor results on Google.cn and give users access to all services from one page.
Google has announced that over the next few days it will end the redirect entirely, taking all Chinese users to the new landing page. The company has re-submitted its ICP licence renewal application based on this approach.
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