China's Latest Google Slap

Yo, China, what's a brotha gotta do to run an international search engine up here? When last we checked in with the mandarins of the Forbidden City, they were once again denouncing Google (GOOG) for allowing Chinese citizens access to pornographic Web sites, as well as insisting that computer importers include a customized anti-porn software program in every machine. Feeling the heat, Google agreed to suspend its "suggest" drop-down menu, which anticipates what you're searching for based on what few characters you've typed in the search field. But that doesn't seem good enough for the People's Republic.

Last night, access to Google, Google Docs, YouTube, and Gmail started vanishing across the country. According to the Wall Street Journal, angry Chinese citizens started posting irritated messages on Twitter, asking one another just what the hell was happening. Within a few minutes, someone with the handle @kaifulee started repeatedly twittering, "We have received your feedback, we are just investigating, please be patient and wait for feedback from Google overseas, thanks for your support." Kai-Fu Lee happens to be Google's president of greater China operations, and the user's Twitter page included a photograph of Kai-Fu Lee.

Except, of course, Mr. Lee hadn't written any such thing. Someone was masquerading as the head of Google China, pretending to respond to all the Twitter complaints. Google reps complained to Twitter reps, who promptly suspended @kaifulee's account. But the Google blackout has persisted throughout the land.

A few hours later, Bloomberg reports, China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang denounced Google for spreading "pornographic, lewd, and vulgar" content around the country. "I'd like to stress that google.com, as an Internet enterprise providing services in China, should earnestly abide by Chinese laws and regulations," Qin said, adding, "All the punitive measures adopted by relevant authorities are conducted strictly according to law." Qin didn't directly take credit for interrupting Google's service, apparently content to let us wonder what these relevant punitive measures might be.

So just what the hell is going on? Why Google, and why now? It can't be a protectionist tactic; after all, Google China is getting its ass handed to it by Baidu, China's domestic search engine. According to ChannelWeb, Baidu's share of Chinese searches is now a hefty 62.2 percent, compared with Google's 27.8 percent. On the other hand, Google's share of the market is rising at a faster clip than Baidu's.

BBC Beijing correspondent Quentin Sommerville suggests that Google may just be caught up in a broader trade war between China and the United States. In addition to the growing conflict over China's demand that anti-porn software be installed in all future computers, the Obama administration has filed its first major complaint against China with the World Trade Organization, alleging that China has unfairly curbed exports of raw material in order to hamper production of finished goods by foreign competitors.