SEO Blog

And so it begins. A US government hearing has been scheduled for February 16th, to question Google and other search engines conforming to China’s strict censorship laws. The hearing will heed testimony from Google, Yahoo and Microsoft.

Earlier this week, Google announced it will censor information from its new search site in China. Disclaimers will be placed the bottom of pages where content has been deleted. This announcement has ruffled a few political feathers in the US, including those of Republican congressman Chris Smith, Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Human Rights. It was Smith who called for the hearing.

“It is astounding that Google, whose corporate philosophy is ‘Don’t be evil’, would enable evil by co-operating with China’s censorship policies just to make a buck,” said Smith.

The hearing announcement came shortly after news about Senator Leahy’s letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Leahy’s two page note demanded the government give reasons for requesting private data from the engines. So far, Google has refused to hand any information over to the US government.

Google faces general accusations of hypocrisy by bending to the will of one government (China), while rebelling against another (USA).

Ah the ups and downs of tech stocks. Last week Google stock made news by taking a beating. It recorded its largest one day drop in history, falling 8.5 percent on January 20th, sinking below $400.00 on the Nasdaq. It’s now starting to climb back out of the hole.

In total, Google shares fell 14 percent amid rumors of a potential US government lawsuit. Google ignored a government subpoena to hand over search records, which seemed to make investors nervous. But this week Google stock has climbed back steadily by 11 percent, to $US443.03. Google has now nuzzled in behind Microsoft, surpassing both IBM and Intel for second place. Intel stock, formerly in second place, has decreased 17 percent since the announcement that its Q4 2005 sales were down.

Earlier this month, brokerage firm Piper Jaffray released a report predicting that Google will see a huge increase in share value this year, forecasting stocks will climb $600 a share. Strong brand recognition, a pipeline of new products and market share gain, are all factors that lead to this prediction.