Former CEO of Company: Reasons why Google Quieted China? (Essay Sample)

Reasons Why Google Quitted China
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Reasons Why Google Quitted China
The move of Google to quit China was effected by Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of the company. The firm was providing a censored search engine service to a huge Chinese market. This paper aims at applying a problem-oriented approach using censorship theory to identify the probable reasons that forced the company to quit its business operations in the country. Additionally, the major problems which faced the business are selected, and their solutions addressed. An explanation of how the solutions should be implemented forms the last section of the write-up.
According to Lopez-Tarruella (2012), censorship refers to suppression of information which is regarded harmful, sensitive, objectionable, and politically incorrect. Meng (2010) argues that Google’s scenario in China can be considered as political censorship. This kind of clampdown of information is effected by the government in attempts to distort or fake political contents received by its citizens. Google’s operation in China was confined under Internet censorship in the country (Wang, 2011).
Quelch & Jocz (2010) ascertain that when an American-based Internet provider invests in a country, it is compelled to perform a repressive and unethical work which benefits the government politically. The company was forced to filter information which according to the China’s government was harmful to the citizens. Such data include contents backing up the independence movements of Taiwan and Tibet. However, Google argued that they had no intention of providing restricted information to internet users (Tan & Tan, 2012). Despite this, protests named "mass breakup with Google" dominated the country for a few days whereby internet users decided to boycott the search engine (Wang, 2011). The mass action was meant to convey the citizen’s disapproval of the policy Google was operating on in the country.
Identification of Problems
Cyberattack affected the company’s operations. According to King & Robert (2013), Google suspended its undertaking in the country after realizing the presence of a breach that targeted it and other firms operating in China. According to Carlson et al. (2010), the unhealthy competition was building up between Google and the local search engine Baidu. The competitors had no restriction on contents and were using the local Mandarin language which enabled the firm to have a competing edge against Google. Additionally, Baidu was using a community oriented services that were more appealing to internet users.
Selection of Major problem
Censorship was the primary challenge for Google. The firm failed to comply with the administration's directives to filter its search contents and instead directed all of its services users to the uncensored Hong Kong type of its search engine (Stone & Xin, 2010). The action was a violation of the internet censorship policies in China. As a result of non-compliance, the company was forced to terminate its operations in the country.
Solutions to Major Problems
According to Jacobs & Helft (2010), firms should be submissive to government's directives for censorship. This move enables a company to continue delivering its services and growing its market share. Meng (2010) argues that Google has minimal choices if it intends to reintroduce its services to China rather that complying with political censorship in the country. According to Lopez-Tarruella (2012), maintaining transparency when content is extracted from Google’s platform could be a solution to the challenge.
The best solution to the Google woes in China lies within government’s censorship policies. Models can be formulated to aid in the determination of the extent to which the company should comply with the internet regulations in the country.
Implementation of the Solution
Google should publish a comprehensive transparency report on an annual basis. These overviews should give an insight of the type and quantity of information requested by internet users. Additionally, they should depict the information takedown from the platform and the policies they complied to. According to Jiang (2014), this implementation move will act as a liberalizing force.