Search Engine Update: Google “Officially” Still Here, Baidu Under Fire

The tribulations of China’s search engine providers continued this week – and Google wasn't the only one making news. The Chinese government finally acknowledged on Tuesday night that Google China has had its Internet Content Provider (ICP) license renewed (although Google itself announced the renewal a fortnight ago), and Baidu is under investigation for accepting payments for search result rankings.

Officials issued a statement on Tuesday night confirming Google’s (ICP) license had been renewed, although the China website (www.google.cn) is now simply a landing page with a redirect to Google’s Hong Kong site. It appears the government has accepted the redirect to Hong Kong, where mainland restrictions on search results do not apply, although this doesn’t of course change the fact that many sites remain blocked, even if users can see them listed in their search results.

Google China is also consolidating and downsizing slightly. According to China Daily, they are eliminating two “unpopular features”: a self-designed website ranking tool (whatever that means), and a Chinese lifestyle site. Google will also end support provided to tianya.com, a Chinese-language forum.

In other news, China’s most popular search engine Baidu is being investigated for paid search results. At best this tactic is dishonest – Google places paid ads at the top of search results, but clearly marks them as such. Baidu’s under-the-table paid promotions look the same as other results.

More seriously, a recent CCTV report alleged Baidu’s paying clients have included an illegal counterfeit drug company in Wuhan. Earlier this month, police also alleged Baidu has been promoting illegal gambling sites in exchange for payments. People's Daily reported that two Baidu employees are under investigation over the gambling site promotions.