The Great Escape: Google Leaving China on April 10th

In the debate on whether Google should choose to leave China sparked by a recent battle over censorship, it has been reported that Google may leave China on April 10, 2010.

Several news outlets, including Bloomberg.com, have reported that April 10th may be the day that Google withdraws its operations from China. No announcements from Google have been officially made as of yet.

This news does not come as a surprise to us as we have reported Google having a problem with China's government for filtering (or lack of filtering) and controlling internet content. Still the blame for such censorship issues is partly directed at previous Chinese government actions.

If April 10th does mark the date of Google pulling out of China, then it would be an indication that the surmounting issues that Google has faced in China has forced them to end their tie with China rather than stay and keep butting heads. China is the biggest and fastest growing online market in the world and for Google to walk away from it means that the fight may not be worth it monetarily and politically.

In today's information age, Google has been king of how information flows over the internet. Without a presence of Google in China, do you think it would have a negative effect on how information is shared or found over the internet for Chinese computer users? Do you think Google will actually make a great escape by pulling out of China next month?