|
|
  |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
China sites count cost of cyber-control
From Kristie Lu Stout
HONG KONG, China -- As political activists grow increasing worried about China's digital censorship, business executives too are starting to count the cost of cyber-control. Beijing is holding its breath as China's 16th Community Party congress looms at the end of this week. The congress, held every five years, will determine the next generation of leadership. And the powers that be want the spotlight on them. The e-stakes are high, since there are now 46 million Internet users in China, compared with 8.9 million just two years ago, according to China Internet Network Information Center. "The congress is interesting because they've come to us and they asked Sohu to give them online advertising and they want banners on our front page," says Derek Palaschuk, chief financial officer of Sohu.com. Sohu.com -- a leading Internet portal in China that introduced the first Chinese-language online directory and search engine -- is prime real estate for the party's message. During this politically sensitive time, Beijing wants to make the right impression, and push what it sees as the wrong ones off the screen. Image
This is a fact of the Internet business in China. The government has the final word on what falls under the cyber curtain. But just what is the cost of that control? "The main cost is in terms with image. We've seen it with Yahoo!" says Eric Sautede, editor of China Perspectives. Earlier this year, Yahoo! China signed a self-discipline pact drawn up by the Chinese government. Paris-based rights group Reporters Without Borders wrote to Yahoo, urging the company to reject what they call an act of self-censorship. Yahoo declined to comment on the letter. Meeting official demands not only weighs on a company's public image, it has a more tangible cost. "They have to find local people, they have probably put up with more administrative procedures with some of the bureaucrats. So that by itself is more resources consumed," says Harvey Cheng, general manager of Hong Kong-based Ion global. Personnel on the payroll need to be trained to liaise with officials, and keep the site risk-free. "We also have a very strong Website quality group that's always monitoring our chat rooms and our content to make sure we do meet the requirements of the government," says Palaschuk from Sohu.com. 'Respect culture'All this can be a mouthful. Internet companies are not allowed to publicize cults, reveal state secrets or object to China's constitution. They are also forbidden to spread content that could cause social disorder. "It does put some constraint on the company and how it operates," says Ion Global's Cheng. "But this is somebody else's culture and you sort of have to respect that." Sohu.com has pushed its way into the black with a tiny third quarter profit of $112,000. Ad sales have grown 52 percent from a year ago, thanks to a rise in domestic clients. But China's leadership is enjoying their banner ad for free. "They're not paying us so as a CFO I'm not so happy about that, but there's nothing that you can do, we're happy to do it really," says Palaschuk. Free parking on one of the most popular Websites in China is the price to pay to keep the party happy.
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
