Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Business

China says to probe Google over anti-monopoly violations

Google in 2011 abandoned its Chinese-language search engine in the mainland and transferred it to Hong Kong..

Google's advertising practices are also subject to investigations or proceedings in Britain, the EU and the United States
Google's advertising practices are also subject to investigations or proceedings in Britain, the EU and the United States. — © AFP/File Josh Edelson
Google's advertising practices are also subject to investigations or proceedings in Britain, the EU and the United States. — © AFP/File Josh Edelson

China on Tuesday said it would probe US tech giant Google over violations of anti-monopoly laws after Washington slapped 10 percent levies on Chinese goods.

Beijing’s State Administration for Market Regulation said the US tech giant was “suspected of violating the Anti-Monopoly Law of the People’s Republic of China”.

It has “launched an investigation into Google in accordance with the law” as a result, the administration said in a statement.

It did not provide further details about the allegations against Google.

The US tech behemoth’s core search engine and many of its services are blocked in mainland China, where US internet titans have long struggled with doing business due to the “Great Firewall” that blocks politically sensitive content.

Google in 2011 abandoned its Chinese-language search engine in the mainland and transferred it to Hong Kong.

By 2014, China blocked the last remaining way to access Google’s email service Gmail.

Beijing also said Tuesday it would add US fashion group PVH Corp. — which owns Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein — and biotech giant Illumina to a list of “unreliable entities”.

The move would “safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests, in accordance with relevant laws”, China’s commerce ministry said in a statement.

“The above two entities violate normal market transaction principles, interrupt normal transactions with Chinese enterprises, and take discriminatory measures against Chinese enterprises,” it added.

China in September said it was investigating PVH for an “unreasonable” boycott of cotton from its Xinjiang region, where Beijing is accused of widespread rights violations.

AFP has reached out to all three firms for comment.

The United States on Saturday announced sweeping measures against major trade partners, with goods from China facing an additional 10 percent tariff on top of existing duties.

Trump said the measures aimed to punish countries for failing to halt flows of illegal migrants and drugs including fentanyl into the United States.

AFP
Written By

With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.

You may also like:

Tech & Science

The GenAI Collective was launched in San Francisco by a group of AI enthusiasts in February of 2023.

Tech & Science

Australia joins the list of countries imposing a ban on DeepSeek’s usage. This latest country to sign up to a ban adds.

Entertainment

Model Parker Gregory recently appeared in the first season of the Hallmark reality series "Finding Mr. Christmas."