Who Profits from Google's Misfortune?

China's state-run television network CCTV on Thursday night blasted Google's Chinese portal for inadvertently providing pornographic links, and China's internet management authorities the next day suspended Google's Chinese-language overseas search services. This is the biggest crisis Google has faced in China and will certainly affect the established confidence of the Chinese government in Google and restrict Google's future expansion.

It is China Internet Illegal Information Report Center (CIIRC) that has condemned Google. Three important CCTV programs, News Broadcast, Focus Report, and News 1+1, carried the story to hundreds of millions of TV viewers in China.

Google China immediately made a public apology and took measures that evening to clean up its site, but the next day, China's official news agency Xinhua reported the suspensions.

There are suspicions that the blaring criticism of Google's pornographic connections now may be serving purposes other than merely clearing the ether of porn.

Analysts note a possible connection to the pornography filtering software Green Dam, promoted by the Chinese government. All computers sold in China after July 1 will be required to install the software before sale. Computer users are voicing strong opposition as they are concerned about privacy and monitoring of Internet records. Netizens have found security vulnerabilities extant in the software, and China's media are also curious about how two obscure companies responsible for the software have gotten access to government procurement.

Another possibility concerns Google's Chinese competitors Baidu and other portals. The competition between Baidu and Google in the Chinese market is fierce, especially after Baidu's marketing staff went out on strike. The two companies have been in the conflict over other matters, with Baidu using its Chinese background to get the upper hand.

Yet another finger points to CCTV. After Baidu was exposed by the network for illegal medical advertising, it invested hugely in CCTV advertising. CCTV's broadcasting of several programs to criticize Google and its exaggeration of CIIRC's condemnation is seen as a rare event.

Google has many ardent fans in China willing to defend it. One college student seen criticizing Google on a television program has been identified by netizens as a CCTV intern, not, as claimed, an independent user representative.

China's net is rife with conspiracy suspicions but as yet there has been no confirmation of any of them.