Google & Baidu Fail China’s Pornography Test, May Lead To Penalties

Jan 5, 2009 at 9:02am ET by Barry Schwartz

The Associated Press reports that China has begun a process to “purify the Internet’s cultural environment and protect the healthy development of minors.” This has resulted in the Chinese government finding that both Google and Baidu have failed to take “efficient” actions to remove content from their results after being notified of issues.

The AP added that China said violators will be “severely punished,” but did not say how they might be punished.

Cui Jin, a Google spokeswoman in China, told the AP that Google does not have any pornographic content in Google China and added, “if we find any violation, we will take action. So far, I haven’t seen any examples of violations.”

Popular Chinese web portals Sina and Sohu have also been cited with violations.

The Financial Times also has some more history on this topic.

Barry Schwartz is Search Engine Land's News Editor and owns RustyBrick, a NY based web consulting firm. He also runs Search Engine Roundtable, a popular search blog on very advanced SEM topics. Barry's personal blog is named Cartoon Barry and he can be followed on Twitter here.

See more articles by Barry Schwartz >

Share, Bookmark & Discuss This Article
More:

Keep Updated: News Via Email | News Via RSS Feed | News Via Twitter

See more stories like this in the Members Library! Check out the Google: Legal, Google: Outside US, Legal: Censorship sections of the Members Library where this story is filed. Members also get access to exclusive video content, a members-only weekly & monthly newsletter, plus more. Check out all the benefits!

Comments are closed.

TOP STORIES

See All »

SEARCH NEWS BRIEFS

See All »

FEATURES & ANALYSIS

See All »

RECENT COMMENTS

Debra Mastaler said " @ezaaron Thanks :) The more a company can do to send it'smessage/content out the more exposure - but"
simonvs said " Interesting article the issue of 'web performance' is like a hidden problem and 'competitive edge' a"
Chris Silver Smith said " Solarian, I seriously considered providing example links, but, frankly, there's virtually thousands "

See All »

See How To Articles And More In Our Members Library »

FREE DAILY SEARCH NEWS RECAP!

Stay on top of all the search news with our daily summary, the SearchCap newsletter. View a sample ›

STAY CURRENT THROUGHOUT THE DAY

The Search Engine Land feed keeps you informed as news happens. SEE ALL FEEDS »

SEARCH ENGINE LAND SPONSORS

Advertise With Us »

UPCOMING SEARCH ENGINE LAND CONFERENCES

Search Engine Land produces SMX, the Search Marketing Expo conference series. SMX events deliver the most comprehensive educational and networking experiences - whether you're just starting in search marketing or you're a seasoned expert.

SMX Web Site » | SMX Difference » | SMX News »

Join us at an upcoming SMX event:

UPCOMING SEARCH ENGINE LAND WEBCASTS

Learn more about search marketing with our free online webcasts and webinars from our sister site, Search Marketing Now. Upcoming online events include: