Eric Schmidt: Google to Stop Censoring Search Results in China

(AFP) Google chief executive Eric Schmidt said Thursday that the Internet giant is still censoring Web search results in China but that will change in a "reasonably short time from now."

"We're in conversation with the Chinese government," Schmidt told financial analysts in a conference call after releasing Google's fourth quarter results.

"Our business in China is today unchanged," said Schmidt, speaking a little over a week after the Internet giant revealed it had come under attack from cyber spies based in China.

"We continue to follow their laws, we continue to offer censored results," Schmidt said. "But in a reasonably short time from now we will be making some changes there."

Schmidt did not provide any further details. Google said last week that it would no longer censor Web search results in China even if that meant it had to shut down its business operations there and leave the country.

Schmidt said Google would like to remain in China. "We made a strong statement that we wish to remain in China," he said. "We like the Chinese people, we like our Chinese employees.

"We like the business opportunities there, but we'd like to do that on somewhat different terms than we have," Schimdt said.

The Google chief executive also said the cyberattacks on Google and other companies which targeted Chinese human rights activists were "still under investigation."

"We believe we've made the necessary technical changes to prevent such a future attack," he said.