Last May, China announced that it was implementing new standards aimed at preventing the disclosure of state secrets by way of “uncertified” and “illegal” online maps. Since the announcement, a number of map providers have been approved, but Google is not one of them.
Over the weekend, the country stepped up pressure on Google to comply, giving the company a July deadline to get the necessary license.
According to Chinese news outlet Xinhua, Internet map providers will be required to keep servers in China, provide public IP addresses and register with the government. Computer World is reporting that the Chinese government has now said that it will “investigate and prosecute Google next July” if it doesn’t meet these requirements.
When we last looked at the situation in June, China had approved 18 domestic mapping companies. Google still has the same issue now as it had then – it houses all of its map servers outside of China. To get licensing, however, all map servers need to be located in mainland China.
Google told Computer World that it is “examining the regulations to understand their impact on [its] maps products in China.”
