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00:00WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THIS PROJECT, AND WHY WAS IT DROPPED? > > IT WAS SHUT DOWN IN PART BECAUSE OF GEOPOLITICAL TENSIONS THAT WERE BEING EXACERBATED BY THE PANDEMIC, ACCORDING TO TWO EMPLOYEES FAMILIAR WITH THE MATTER. THE PROJECT WAS NOT JUST INTENDED FOR CHINA, IT WAS TO PROVIDE A SOLUTION FOR COUNTRIES WITH STRICT LAWS AROUND THE COLLECTION AND PROCESSING OF PEOPLE ' S DATA. THAT WOULD INCLUDE OTHER COUNTRIES LIKE THE E.U.. THE GOAL IS TO SEPARATE THIS PART OF THE NETWORK FROM THE CORE GROUP SERVICES CLOUD SYSTEM TO ALLOW GOVERNMENTS ARE THIRD PARTIES TO OVERSEE THE DATA WITHOUT THE RISK OF ANY PRIVACY CONCERNS FOR THE REST OF GOOGLE ' S CLIENTS. AT THE SAME TIME IT WOULD APPEASE THOSE CLIENTS CONCERNS ABOUT COVERT SURVEILLANCE OF CLOUD SERVICE ABROAD. IN JANUARY 2019 BECAUSE OF THE ESCALATING U.S.-CHINA TENSIONS, GOOGLE DECIDED TO PAUSE PLANS FOR ISOLATED REGIONS IN CHINA FOR CUSTOMERS IN EUROPE, THE MIDDLE EAST, AND AFRICA. OUR SOURCES SAY THE ENTIRE PROJECT WAS SCRAPPED IN MAY. GOOGLE MEANTIME HAS DENIED THAT IT WAS DUE TO GEOPOLITICAL OR PANDEMIC ISSUES. HASLINDA: HOW ABOUT AMAZON AND MICROSOFT ASSETS IN THE CLOUD IN CHINA? SELENA: AMAZON AND MICROSOFT BOTH HAVE LOUD SERVICES IN CHINA THROUGH JOINT VENTURES. THIS IS SOMETHING GOOGLE HAD CONSIDERED AS WELL, BUT ACCORDING TO OUR SOURCES, THOSE PLANS WERE SCRAPPED LAST YEAR GIVEN U.S.-CHINA TENSIONS, DECISION MADE BY THE CEO. GOOGLE WAS FACING A LOT OF SCRUTINY OVER ITS EFFORTS TO REPORTEDLY TRY AND PROVIDE ANOTHER VERSION OF ITS SEARCH ENGINE IN CHINA. THIS IS AN IMPORTANT SEGMENT FOR GOOGLE, GIVEN THAT CLOUD SERVICES LAST YEAR GENERATED $8.9 BILLION OF REVENUE, IT ' S FASTEST GROWING REVENUE STREAM OUTSIDE OF ITS CORE ADVERTISING SEGMENT SO IT ' S QUICKLY TRYING TO CHASE OTHER MARKETS.

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Google Scrapped Cloud Initiative in China, Other Markets

Google abandoned plans to offer a major new cloud service in China and other politically sensitive countries due in part to concerns over geopolitical tensions and the pandemic, according to two employees familiar with the matter, revealing the challenges for U.S. tech giants to secure business in those markets. Bloomberg's Selina Wang reports on "Bloomberg Markets: Asia." (Source: Bloomberg)

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