Google Considers China's "Web Mapping License"

eldavojohn writes "Back in May, China rolled out new laws requiring online mapping services to be 'certified' by the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping. The laws appear to go into effect this month. Today an AFP article outlines Google's consideration of these rules and notes that it's unlikely Google will meet the qualifications to become certified as all of its servers holding the mapping data are outside of China. The AFP also reported that 'Foreign firms wanting to provide mapping and surveying services in China are required to set up joint ventures or partnerships with local firms.' Unless large changes are made, Google's services might get a lot more stunted as China regulates onward."

Comments

Some Additional Speculation

[eldavojohn]

The AFP also reported that 'Foreign firms wanting to provide mapping and surveying services in China are required to set up joint ventures or partnerships with local firms.'

I omitted my commentary on this particular clause as it's pretty much just speculation but I would claim that the government is encouraging/requiring/enabling corporate espionage. Not to mention the probably very sensitive close up data Google may or may not have of areal images of the United States. Now, it might just be that the government wants to foster local businesses but I would argue that it has more to do with strategy and espionage. I know I'd be uncomfortable.

This is a joke

[WindBourne]

This is designed to simply drain the IP from western companies into Chinese ones. This is on top of China having their money fixed against the dollar.Yes, they said that they would change it a bit, but inside of 2 days, they rolled back the change. Quit honestly, China is an a cold war with the west via economic means. At this time, the west needs to tell CHina to either obey their agreements (float their money, drop their trade barriers, quit dumping/subsidizing, follow through on their international agreements such as CLintons as well as IMF) OR simply impose a slowly increasing tariff on ALL GOODS coming from China. If the west, India, and Brazil will follow through on this, then China WILL obey their agreements.

Re:This is a joke

[Anonymous Coward]

simply impose a slowly increasing tariff

No need. China is about to experience a labor revolution such as has never occurred anywhere in Asia. Major manufacturers (Toyota, Nissan, Foxconn, etc.) are experiencing labor strikes and capitulating with large wage increases. The best thing we can do is continue to buy their stuff and fuel their demand for labor. Once their working class feels its oats it will overrun the county and China will cease to provide an endless horizon of subsistence wages.

This won't be students in a square with microphones. It will be angry workers with pipes and accelerants.

Another Grab at intellectual property

[Tisha_AH]

This is not even a very well veiled attempt to get any company that wants to do business in China to open up all of their source code and "hand the keys to the kingdom" to the Chinese government.

Ironically I bet there are companies that carry a big IP hammer to beat up the rest of the world with will be beating down the doors to become slavering lapdogs of China for a chance at the profits pie. Of course China will say "you companies just do not understand China so we need to repackage everything you do to fit our "culture"". What they are really meaning is that "Give us all of the stuff and we will let you play in our sandbox... until we can reverse engineer your application or system and stick a "Made in China" label on it. The we will give you the boot or make the conditions so impossible for you to do business you will run out with your tails between your legs".

Re:Another Grab at intellectual property

[TheNarrator]

The irony is that companies that do everything China wants often get little in return. Look at Microsoft. They gave China the source code to their software. Gave them nearly free licensing of Windows and they hardly make any money there at all!

http://www.internetnews.com/ent-news/article.php/1832381/Gates-Lets-China-Peek-Through-Windows.htm

February 28, 2003
By Mark Berniker: More stories by this author:
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates on a tour in China said his company will allow the Chinese government partial access to the source code of its Windows operating system.

Microsoft said it would only share some details about its proprietary source code, but it's considered a major win for Microsoft to have China join its Government Security Program (GSP). China is one of several countries, including Russia, NATO and the United Kingdom, participating in the recently launched Microsoft program aimed, at part, in trying to reverse negative perceptions of the company.

At issue, is whether Microsoft's software provides adequate security for governments, and their classified data. Piracy of Microsoft software in China is also a huge problem, and the Chinese government and Microsoft are keen to jointly stem its tide.

Microsoft has clearly made a decision that China, the world's biggest market with immense potential for growth over the next decade, is a place it will be putting considerable resources towards. Microsoft has said it will invest $750 million in China from 2003-2005.

and now in 2010....

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-05-24/microsoft-s-ballmer-says-china-piracy-is-a-problem-update1-.html

Lack of progress in protecting intellectual property has led China, which may overtake the U.S. as the world’s biggest personal-computer market in a year, to generate less revenue for Microsoft than India and South Korea, Ballmer said. China’s gross domestic product is twice the two economies combined.

Re:Good ol protectionism

[wealthychef]

Your aim is not to make the world fair for everyone but to make it best for yourself. Learn to politic.

I can see how that would work out great for the world. The only reason that appeals to fairness have any effect is that people actually care about actual fairness. Cynicism and resignation have never gotten anything worthwhile in this world. Diplomacy aside, protectionism is bullshit by and large, and China needs to be called on it just like we do.

Re:Wait! -- What's that?

[Monkeedude1212]

People too cowardly to tear every Communist Party member's head off deserve the kind of rule the Party gives them.

What a brutish approach to politics."So a few million die" - so why haven't you resorted to violence against anything your government does that you don't like? I'm sure you could drum up enough of a local militia to send a message. I mean you clearly don't fear death or arrest or abuse.

When the strong oppress the weak, saying the weak deserve it because they are weak makes you sound like the biggest bigot ever and is incredibly short-sighted. That's the kind of attitude that promotes slavery and abuse of women. If you don't want to be grouped with those people, you better find a way to defend that claim or retract it.

Re:Two Words...

[gbjbaanb]

Once their money comes back into balance with the dollar, they will collapse

Once their money comes back into balance with the dollar, you'll find the US economy will collapse as a major amount of the US national debt is held by the Chinese. It started off as a cheap way to fund American consumerism without having to worry - after all, China buys your bonds and you spend the cash they just gave you on Chinese goods - wins all round!

But.. that means they hold an enormous amount on US debt. If they decided to sell it on, both Yuan and the dollar would take an almighty hit - enough to pretty much collapse the US economy. Fortunately the Yuan is pegged to the dollar and doesn't float about - which could cause a bit of a collapse in either currency depending on which way it moved,

See, if the Yuan devalued against the dollar, they'd stop buying US debt. And so the cost of selling that debt would increase - the US needs to keep selling debt partly to fund the previous debt repayments - if the interest payments went up... you can see that wouldn't be good for the US. Considering how huge the debt is, that wouldn't be good at all.

Also, if the dollar didn't buy as much yuan as before, that would mean inflation for the US - no more cheap goods to buy.

So really, the US needs China to keep the dollar high. If they stop, you, them, and almost everybody is screwed. (Ok, maybe the Eurozone would come out of it better - assuming it doesn't collapse itself)