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Google says China blocking search features
01 July 2010
Users stopped from service that suggests answers
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Google
China
Guxiang Information Technology
Kong Kong
Google has said one of its web search features has been blocked in China. Mainland users were unable to use Google Suggest, which offers possible results as users start to type a query, said a Google official. Normal searches that do not use query suggestions were unaffected.
Google is waiting for China’s decision on whether to renew the company’s operating licence. The licence runs through 2012 but needs to be renewed annually.
Guxiang Information Technology, operator of Google.cn, had submitted an application to China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to renew its internet content provider licence, which will permit it to run websites in China.
Guxiang has pledged to “abide by the Chinese law” and “provide no law-breaking contents”. On March 22, Google closed its China-based search engine and began routing users to its unfiltered Hong Kong site. GTB