“Google says it has postponed the launch of two Android based mobile phones in China following a dispute with the government over censorship,” BBC News reports.
“The announcement came as the Chinese government said Google and other foreign firms must obey the country’s laws and traditions,” The Beeb reports. “Google said last week that it had been targeted in a sophisticated cyber attack thought to originate in China.”
“The attacks were thought to target the e-mail accounts of human rights activists,” The Beeb reports. “As a result, the company said that it would no longer censor search engine results in China even if it meant it had to shut down operations in the country.”
The Beeb reports, “Google had planned to launch two handsets running its Android operating system in cooperation Samsung and Motorola. ‘The launch we have been working on with China Unicom has been postponed,’ said a Google spokesperson.”
“Microsoft admitted that its Internet Explorer browser was a weak link in the recent attacks on Google’s systems,” The Beeb reports. “As a result, the governments of France and Germany have warned their citizens to switch to a new browser.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Google ought to first postpone payment to their idiot employee who decided to have employees use Microsoft’s Internet Explorer online.
Related articles:
French government warns against using MS Explorer – January 18, 2010
German government warns against using MS Explorer – January 17, 2010
What do you think Google will bail on first, China or Nexus One? – January 15, 2010
China attack on Google exploited Microsoft Internet Explorer flaw – January 15, 2010
Why Google’s ‘China Doctrine’ could be good for Apple – January 13, 2010
this is so bad… and you know who called this exactly?
Jim Cramer.
yeah, that Jim Cramer.
Guess what guys, he gets up at like 5 am and works his ass off. And yea, he called it a win for Apple when Google did the ‘protest,’ because of Android.
I don’t think the chinese would miss anything..
That’s great Google. Anger your manufacturing partners based in China. Real smart.
@Scott.
If Google has to choose between abandoning a late starter cell phone and abandoning their game changing Gmail service (remember when 10mb constituted a full mailbox?), which do you think they’re going to amputate?
As if google can actually “threaten” china gov. The second most powerful nation in the world.
Whether they like it or not, whether china gov cyber attacked or not, u have to play by the house rules or leave.
Espionage is espionage whether in the USA, Middle East or China.
I wish more companies had the guts to stand up against those who are corrupt whether in government or private business, lest we return to the partisan feudalism seen in all our countries of a few hundred years ago.
I want to be richer. Who cares if China rules like in “1984.” Let China steal all our technology and use it us to destroy our security. The future doesn’t matter, only the share-price.