Google cancels major cloud project for China
Google employees reveal details of its Isolated Region initiative
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Googlehas reportedly abandoned its plans to develop and launch acloud computingproduct aimed at the Chinese market and other politically sensitive countries according to anew reportfromBloomberg.
The news outlet spoke with two employees familiar with the matter who revealed that the now canceled initiative was referred to as “Isolated Region” internally before it was shut down in May.
The initiative was designed to allow Google to set up cloud services that were controlled by a third party such as a locally owned company or a government agency. By doing this, the company would be able to do business in China and other countries with strong restrictions while keeping these products separate from its cloud computing systems and network infrastructure.
If this sound at all familiar, that’s because it is Google’s second initiative to develop a product specifically for the Chinese market. Back in 2018, it was discovered that the company was working on a censored search product calledProject Dragonflyfor China. However, the project was shut down followinginternal complaintsfrom Google’s privacy team.
Isolated Region
According to one of the Google employeesBloombergspoke with, the Isolated Region initiative first started back in early 2018 as a way to address China’s policy that requires Western companies to form a joint venture with a Chinese partner company when they provide data or networking services in the country.
When a joint venture is formed between a Chinese company and a Western one, the partner company retains both physical and administrative control over the user data. By going this route, Google could meet the requirements of Chinese authorities while also creating a barrier between its Isolated Region cloud services and the rest of its network.
In January of last year, Google reportedly decided to pause the version of its cloud product for the Chinese market over privacy concerns related to doing business with the Chinese government and because of rising tensions between the US and China as a result of thetrade warbetween the two countries. The search giant then shifted its focus to working with other countries in Africa, Europe and the Middle East. The employees also revealed toBloombergthat the initiative was finally canceled in May of this year due to increasingly poor relations between the US and other countries and because of the pandemic.
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In addition to allowing Google to operate in countries with greater internet restrictions, Isolated Region was also meant to help the company get around the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act, also known as the CLOUD act, which gave US law enforcement agencies the ability to request personal data stored by American tech companies even if the data is stored on servers located outside of the US.
ViaThe Verge
After working with the TechRadar Pro team for the last several years, Anthony is now the security and networking editor at Tom’s Guide where he covers everything from data breaches and ransomware gangs to the best way to cover your whole home or business with Wi-Fi. When not writing, you can find him tinkering with PCs and game consoles, managing cables and upgrading his smart home.
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