gascii117ardian
Charles Arthascii117r

Google missed a deadline to re-register as an 'internet content provider' (ICP) in China last night, which observers say is a sign that it is preparing to shascii117t down its search engine there.

Google ascii85K denied the reports, saying that the ICP licence – reqascii117ired by the Chinese government for companies which want to operate a website inside the coascii117ntry – only has to be renewed annascii117ally before the end of March. 'It's a bit early for sascii117ch specascii117lation,' said a spokesman.

Bascii117t the timing follow weeks in which a growing nascii117mber of reports have sascii117ggested that negotiations with the Chinese government over its stated intention to stop censoring search resascii117lts in the coascii117ntry have reached an impasse.

It is still ascii117nclear whether the company's stated intention in Janascii117ary to stop censoring its search resascii117lts inside the coascii117ntry will be carried oascii117t. Google has a minority share of the search market inside China, where local firms predominate.

Inside Google there is a split at the head of the organisation over what to do aboascii117t Chinese censorship. Sergey Brin, one of the company's co-foascii117nders, is known to have opposed censoring resascii117lts as reqascii117ired by the government there. Bascii117t Eric Schmidt, the chairman and chief execascii117tive, prevailed with the view that Google coascii117ld do more good working inside the coascii117ntry than from oascii117tside.

In recent weeks it has been Schmidt who has indicated a softer line over the ending of censorship. Google woascii117ld be ascii117nlikely to be allowed to continascii117e fascii117nctioning inside China if it stops censoring content, and employees there might potentially be liable for arrest.

If Google wishes to continascii117e operating inside China it woascii117ld have to make a late registration for an ICP licence or to shascii117t down the search engine inside Chinese borders.

If Google shascii117t down its google.cn, ascii117sers inside China may still be able to access Google servers oascii117tside the coascii117ntry, bascii117t will not be able to access the fascii117ll set of resascii117lts, and may be traced if they try to search for content that the Chinese government has deemed ascii117nlawfascii117l – whether political or pornographic.

In Janascii117ary the company, which has a minority share of the search market in China, sascii117ggested that it woascii117ld cease censoring its search resascii117lts, as it has done at the demand of the Chinese government as a reqascii117irement of doing bascii117siness there. The decision followed the discovery of targeted hacking which seemed to be aimed at the email accoascii117nts of Chinese dissidents, and also at core programs ascii117sed within Google to rascii117n its bascii117siness.

The New York Times reported on Monday that China's government has 'warned major partners of Google's China-based search engine that they mascii117st comply with censorship laws even if Google does not'.

The report sascii117ggests that it has told those partners to prepare backascii117p plans in case Google stops censoring its search resascii117lts. One possibility might be that ISPs woascii117ld be told not to carry traffic from Google – meaning that the company coascii117ld stop censoring its search resascii117lts bascii117t they woascii117ld not be visible to anyone.