In an explosive court testimony, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on Monday (Oct 2) said that rival tech giant Google's dominance of the search engine market gives it an unfair advantage over rivals.

The Microsoft CEO was speaking during a tense cross-examination by a Google lawyer in the midst of a trial, where lawyers from the US Department of Justice are attempting to persuade a federal judge to rule on Google's antitrust actions.

He also slammed Apple, recalling Microsoft's willingness to pay the iPhone maker to get Bing the 'default status' on the phone. Microsoft was even ready&nbsp;to hide its search engine's brand on Apple Inc handsets, he said.

<h2>'Dominant' Google</h2>

Hitting out sharply at the business practices of his arch rival company, Nadella said Google has made it very hard for rivals to emerge.

Addressing a courtroom in Washington, DC, he said, "you can call it popular, but to me it's dominant."&nbsp;

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/google-vs-us-justice-department-landmark-antitrust-trial-begins-what-you-need-to-know-635243">Explained: Google vs US Justice Department: Why the biggest antitrust trial in US is crucial</a>

The case by US DoJ alleged that Google has illegally paid billions of dollars to Apple and others to preserve its monopoly.

<h2>Bing's fight for a market share</h2>

As per AFP, Microsoft's Bing has been trying since 2009 to build market share against Google. However, Nadella blamed the company's failure on&nbsp;Google.

He said Bing could never compete against the search engine behemoth.

Nadella backed the US Government's contention that Google's dominance of the search engine market fuels its intake of data, which creates a 'network effect' that further fortifies Google's prominence as a more powerful tool to advertisers and users.

He said: "It becomes even harder to break through when you don't have (market) share."

<h2>What is Google antitrust trial?</h2>

The US and its state allies contend that Google has unfairly forged its position as the world's pre-eminent search engine.

They allege that Google's domination of online search is a result of exclusivity contracts the tech titan signed with device makers, mobile operators and other companies. These contracts allegedly involved making Google the default search engine on most phones and web browsers.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/us-justice-department-to-sue-google-for-the-second-time-report-555359">US justice department to sue Google for the second time over market dominance: Report</a>

Filed in 2020, the lawsuit alleges that such contracts were intended to be "exclusionary" by Google and that they left rivals no chance to compete with the search engine, enabling its position as the search market king.

It also alleges that such contracts have resulted in less choice for consumers and also less innovation.

This, in turn, helped Google parent firm Alphabet to be one of the richest companies on the planet. As per government estimates, Google has grabbed a 90 per cent of the market share in search in recent years.

The three-month trial, as per AFP, is the biggest US antitrust case against a big tech company since the US Department of Justice took on Microsoft more than two decades ago over the dominance of its Windows operating system.

(With inputs from agencies)

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In an explosive court testimony, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on Monday (Oct 2) said that rival tech giant Google's dominance of the search engine market gives it an unfair advantage over rivals.

In an explosive court testimony, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on Monday (Oct 2) said that rival tech giant Google's dominance of the search engine market gives it an unfair advantage over rivals. The Microsoft CEO was speaking during a tense cross-examination by a Google lawyer in the midst of a trial, where lawyers from the US Department of Justice are attempting to persuade a federal judge to rule on Google's antitrust actions. He also slammed Apple, recalling Microsoft's willingness to pay the iPhone maker to get Bing the 'default status' on the phone. Microsoft was even ready to hide its search engine's brand on Apple Inc handsets, he said. 'Dominant' Google Hitting out sharply at the business practices of his arch rival company, Nadella said Google has made it very hard for rivals to emerge. Addressing a courtroom in Washington, DC, he said, "you can call it popular, but to me it's dominant." Also read | Explained: Google vs US Justice Department: Why the biggest antitrust trial in US is crucial The case by US DoJ alleged that Google has illegally paid billions of dollars to Apple and others to preserve its monopoly. Bing's fight for a market share As per AFP, Microsoft's Bing has been trying since 2009 to build market share against Google. However, Nadella blamed the company's failure on Google. He said Bing could never compete against the search engine behemoth. Nadella backed the US Government's contention that Google's dominance of the search engine market fuels its intake of data, which creates a 'network effect' that further fortifies Google's prominence as a more powerful tool to advertisers and users. He said: "It becomes even harder to break through when you don't have (market) share." What is Google antitrust trial? The US and its state allies contend that Google has unfairly forged its position as the world's pre-eminent search engine. They allege that Google's domination of online search is a result of exclusivity contracts the tech titan signed with device makers, mobile operators and other companies. These contracts allegedly involved making Google the default search engine on most phones and web browsers. Also read | US justice department to sue Google for the second time over market dominance: Report Filed in 2020, the lawsuit alleges that such contracts were intended to be "exclusionary" by Google and that they left rivals no chance to compete with the search engine, enabling its position as the search market king. It also alleges that such contracts have resulted in less choice for consumers and also less innovation. This, in turn, helped Google parent firm Alphabet to be one of the richest companies on the planet. As per government estimates, Google has grabbed a 90 per cent of the market share in search in recent years. The three-month trial, as per AFP, is the biggest US antitrust case against a big tech company since the US Department of Justice took on Microsoft more than two decades ago over the dominance of its Windows operating system. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Microsoft CEO Nadella testifies against Google in case on 'billion-dollar' exclusivity contracts

Microsoft&nbsp;Corp on Friday blamed "accidental human error" for its Bing search engine not showing image results for the query "tank man" in the United States and elsewhere after users raised concerns about possible censorship around the Tiananmen Square crackdown anniversary.

Users, including those in the United Kingdom, Germany and Singapore, reported Friday that when they performed the search Bing returned the message, "There are no results for tank man."

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/famed-tank-man-photo-vanishes-from-bing-search-engine-389574">Famed 'Tank Man' photo vanishes from Bing search engine</a>

David Greene, civil liberties director at the nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation, said that content moderation was impossible to do perfectly and "egregious mistakes are made all the time."

But he said it could be more sinister: "At worst, this was purposeful suppression at the request of a powerful state."

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/tiananmen-square-massacre-what-really-happened-in-1989-389384">Tiananmen Square Massacre: What really happened in 1989?</a>

Hours after&nbsp;Microsoft&nbsp;acknowledged the issue, the "tank man" search returned only pictures of tanks elsewhere in the world.

"Tank man" is often used to describe an unidentified person famously pictured standing before tanks in China's Tiananmen Square during pro-democracy demonstrations in June 1989.

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Microsoft&nbsp;said the issue was "due to an accidental human error and we are actively working to resolve this."

Smaller search engines such as DuckDuckGo that license results from&nbsp;Microsoft&nbsp;faced similar issues around "tank man" searches and said they expected a fix soon.

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/timeline-32-years-of-chinas-brutal-tiananmen-crackdown-389474">Timeline: 32 years of China's brutal Tiananmen crackdown</a>

Rival Google showed many results for the famous image when the "tank man" search was performed on Friday.

A significant percentage of the&nbsp;Microsoft&nbsp;employees who work on Bing are based in China, including some who work on image-recognition software, according to a former employee.

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/hong-kong-officials-ramp-up-security-ahead-of-tiananmen-square-anniversary-389234">Hong Kong officials ramp up security ahead of Tiananmen Square anniversary</a>

China is known to require search engines operating in its jurisdiction to censor results, but those restrictions are rarely applied elsewhere.

Microsoft Corp on Friday blamed "accidental human error" for its Bing search engine not showing image results for the query "tank man" in the United States and elsewhere after users raised concerns about possible censorship around the Tiananmen Square crackdown anniversary.

Microsoft Corp on Friday blamed "accidental human error" for its Bing search engine not showing image results for the query "tank man" in the United States and elsewhere after users raised concerns about possible censorship around the Tiananmen Square crackdown anniversary. Users, including those in the United Kingdom, Germany and Singapore, reported Friday that when they performed the search Bing returned the message, "There are no results for tank man." Also Read | Famed 'Tank Man' photo vanishes from Bing search engine David Greene, civil liberties director at the nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation, said that content moderation was impossible to do perfectly and "egregious mistakes are made all the time." But he said it could be more sinister: "At worst, this was purposeful suppression at the request of a powerful state." Also Read | Tiananmen Square Massacre: What really happened in 1989? Hours after Microsoft acknowledged the issue, the "tank man" search returned only pictures of tanks elsewhere in the world. "Tank man" is often used to describe an unidentified person famously pictured standing before tanks in China's Tiananmen Square during pro-democracy demonstrations in June 1989. Microsoft said the issue was "due to an accidental human error and we are actively working to resolve this." Smaller search engines such as DuckDuckGo that license results from Microsoft faced similar issues around "tank man" searches and said they expected a fix soon. Also Read | Timeline: 32 years of China's brutal Tiananmen crackdown Rival Google showed many results for the famous image when the "tank man" search was performed on Friday. A significant percentage of the Microsoft employees who work on Bing are based in China, including some who work on image-recognition software, according to a former employee. Also Read | Hong Kong officials ramp up security ahead of Tiananmen Square anniversary China is known to require search engines operating in its jurisdiction to censor results, but those restrictions are rarely applied elsewhere.

Microsoft says error led to no matching Bing images for Tiananmen 'tank man'

Search engine Bing's outage in China last week was a technical error, rather than an intentional censorship block, a source familiar with the matter said, although Chinese authorities and Microsoft have not commented on the topic.

From a technical perspective, a person at Microsoft Corp told Reuters, the site appeared to have been blocked in a manner similar to sites blocked by the government.

But the company had received no prior notice from authorities, and the disruption was not intentional on the part of the government, added the person, who declined to be identified, citing the sensitivity of the matter.

Microsoft was not immediately available for comment on Monday. Last week, although it confirmed the outage, it declined to give details.

The Cyberspace Administration of China did not respond immediately to a faxed request from Reuters seeking comment.

Starting from Thursday, Internet users in China attempting to access cn.bing.com, the search engine's domestic URL, found themselves directed to an error page.

Attempts to log on to Facebook, Google search, or other sites blocked by China's Great Firewall, encountered the same fate.

Service had resumed by late on Friday, however.

Engineers at ExpressVPN, a provider of virtual private network (VPN) software allowing internet users in China to access censored websites, ran tests during the outage to determine its origin.

They found that rather than domain name service (DNS) poisoning, the most common means for blocking sites under the Great Firewall, Bing's outage appeared to employ a technique known as "black-holing".

With this method, rather than redirecting to a dummy server traffic headed for a specific website, the traffic is simply cut off en route, usually at the internet service provider (ISP) level.

Express VPN Vice President Harold Li said blackholing boosts the likelihood of an accidental block, versus the more typical DNS poisoning, though he added that the company could not confirm the exact nature of the outage.

"We have no idea if it was an accident or not, but it's much easier to make the mistake of blocking Bing when you're blocking a set of IP addresses," he said, referring to website addresses.

Bing has long been the only major overseas search engine accessible in China, which blocked access to Alphabet’s Google search platform starting in 2010. Microsoft alters Bing's results to avoid politically sensitive topics, in line with government policy.

Bing's outage came a day after a widely read article by a Chinese journalist criticizing the quality of search results from Baidu Inc, the dominant domestic search engine.

That led some internet users to speculate the two incidents were related. The company has endured regular public backlash since 2016 when a Chinese student died after seeking treatment at a hospital that advertised on Baidu.

&nbsp;

Search engine Bing's outage in China last week was a technical error, rather than an intentional censorship block, a source familiar with the matter said, although Chinese authorities and Microsoft have not commented on the topic.

Search engine Bing's outage in China last week was a technical error, rather than an intentional censorship block, a source familiar with the matter said, although Chinese authorities and Microsoft have not commented on the topic. From a technical perspective, a person at Microsoft Corp told Reuters, the site appeared to have been blocked in a manner similar to sites blocked by the government. But the company had received no prior notice from authorities, and the disruption was not intentional on the part of the government, added the person, who declined to be identified, citing the sensitivity of the matter. Microsoft was not immediately available for comment on Monday. Last week, although it confirmed the outage, it declined to give details. The Cyberspace Administration of China did not respond immediately to a faxed request from Reuters seeking comment. Starting from Thursday, Internet users in China attempting to access cn.bing.com, the search engine's domestic URL, found themselves directed to an error page. Attempts to log on to Facebook, Google search, or other sites blocked by China's Great Firewall, encountered the same fate. Service had resumed by late on Friday, however. Engineers at ExpressVPN, a provider of virtual private network (VPN) software allowing internet users in China to access censored websites, ran tests during the outage to determine its origin. They found that rather than domain name service (DNS) poisoning, the most common means for blocking sites under the Great Firewall, Bing's outage appeared to employ a technique known as "black-holing". With this method, rather than redirecting to a dummy server traffic headed for a specific website, the traffic is simply cut off en route, usually at the internet service provider (ISP) level. Express VPN Vice President Harold Li said blackholing boosts the likelihood of an accidental block, versus the more typical DNS poisoning, though he added that the company could not confirm the exact nature of the outage. "We have no idea if it was an accident or not, but it's much easier to make the mistake of blocking Bing when you're blocking a set of IP addresses," he said, referring to website addresses. Bing has long been the only major overseas search engine accessible in China, which blocked access to Alphabet’s Google search platform starting in 2010. Microsoft alters Bing's results to avoid politically sensitive topics, in line with government policy. Bing's outage came a day after a widely read article by a Chinese journalist criticizing the quality of search results from Baidu Inc, the dominant domestic search engine. That led some internet users to speculate the two incidents were related. The company has endured regular public backlash since 2016 when a Chinese student died after seeking treatment at a hospital that advertised on Baidu.

Bing outage in China was technical error, not censors' block - source

<a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.wionews.com/world/microsofts-bing-search-engine-goes-offline-in-china-192347&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=0ahUKEwjrs6eikojgAhXCWisKHcniAuoQFggIMAE&amp;client=internal-uds-cse&amp;cx=006054055338965708568:09spwrlibei&amp;usg=AOvVaw1vFypeaQbmWzk6-jvY9KTK">Microsoft </a>is still trying to figure out why its<a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.wionews.com/world/microsoft-says-bing-search-engine-blocked-in-china-192473&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=0ahUKEwjrs6eikojgAhXCWisKHcniAuoQFggFMAA&amp;client=internal-uds-cse&amp;cx=006054055338965708568:09spwrlibei&amp;usg=AOvVaw1uJZXw8Yo3gjz0Zf8eztXI"> Bing search engine</a> temporarily went offline in China, the company's president said following speculation that it could have been blocked by censors.

The US firm's Chinese website, cn.Bing.Com, was accessible again late Thursday, one day after it suddenly went offline, temporarily taking away the most prominent foreign search engine in China.

The disruption raised fears among social media users that it was the latest foreign website to be blocked by China. Sites such as Facebook and Twitter have long been blocked by authorities using a censorship apparatus known as the "Great Firewall".

"This is not the first time it's happened. It happens periodically," Microsoft president Brad Smith told Fox Business News at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

"There are times when there are disagreements, there are times when there are difficult negotiations with the Chinese government, and we're still waiting to find out what this situation is about," he said.

Bing's temporary disruption came as a surprise because the search engine has followed China's censorship rules.

On Thursday, for example, a Bing search for Liu Xiaobo, the dissident and Nobel Peace Prize laureate who died of cancer while still in custody last year, returned one message: "Results are removed in response to a notice of local law requirement."Smith said it was understood that Bing did not have the same legal freedoms in China that it enjoyed in other countries.

"But at the same time, we stick to our guns. There are certain principles that we think it's important to stand up for, and we'll go at times into the negotiating room and the negotiations are sometimes pretty darn direct," he said.

While its rival Google shut down its search engine in China in 2010 after rows over censorship and hacking, Bing has continued to operate in the country, along with Microsoft-owned Skype.

Bing, however, has struggled to catch up to China's own Baidu search engine, which dominates the market even though many people in the country complain about the quality of its search results.

Smith said Microsoft took seriously its obligations to customers regarding censorship.

"I think what is interesting today is technology and sort of human rights, free expression, these issues are really intersecting and on certain days colliding more than in the past," he said.

"There are deals that we've turned down for things like facial recognition technology because we felt that people's rights will be put at risk.

"And I think more than ever, tech companies really need to think about these things, they need to be principled and you have to have a little moral courage, in my view, if you're going to be in this business and really take care of your customers."&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

Microsoft is still trying to figure out why its Bing search engine temporarily went offline in China, the company's president said following speculation that it could have been blocked by censors.

Microsoft is still trying to figure out why its Bing search engine temporarily went offline in China, the company's president said following speculation that it could have been blocked by censors. The US firm's Chinese website, cn.Bing.Com, was accessible again late Thursday, one day after it suddenly went offline, temporarily taking away the most prominent foreign search engine in China. The disruption raised fears among social media users that it was the latest foreign website to be blocked by China. Sites such as Facebook and Twitter have long been blocked by authorities using a censorship apparatus known as the "Great Firewall". "This is not the first time it's happened. It happens periodically," Microsoft president Brad Smith told Fox Business News at the World Economic Forum in Davos. "There are times when there are disagreements, there are times when there are difficult negotiations with the Chinese government, and we're still waiting to find out what this situation is about," he said. Bing's temporary disruption came as a surprise because the search engine has followed China's censorship rules. On Thursday, for example, a Bing search for Liu Xiaobo, the dissident and Nobel Peace Prize laureate who died of cancer while still in custody last year, returned one message: "Results are removed in response to a notice of local law requirement."Smith said it was understood that Bing did not have the same legal freedoms in China that it enjoyed in other countries. "But at the same time, we stick to our guns. There are certain principles that we think it's important to stand up for, and we'll go at times into the negotiating room and the negotiations are sometimes pretty darn direct," he said. While its rival Google shut down its search engine in China in 2010 after rows over censorship and hacking, Bing has continued to operate in the country, along with Microsoft-owned Skype. Bing, however, has struggled to catch up to China's own Baidu search engine, which dominates the market even though many people in the country complain about the quality of its search results. Smith said Microsoft took seriously its obligations to customers regarding censorship. "I think what is interesting today is technology and sort of human rights, free expression, these issues are really intersecting and on certain days colliding more than in the past," he said. "There are deals that we've turned down for things like facial recognition technology because we felt that people's rights will be put at risk. "And I think more than ever, tech companies really need to think about these things, they need to be principled and you have to have a little moral courage, in my view, if you're going to be in this business and really take care of your customers."

Microsoft 'waiting to find out' why Bing went offline in China

Microsoft was investigating a disruption in its Bing search engine in China on Thursday, with social media users fearing it could be the latest foreign website to be blocked by censors.

Attempts to open cn.bing.com has resulted in an error message for users since Wednesday.

"We're aware of reports that Bing may be inaccessible to some customers in China and are investigating," a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement.

China's Communist authorities operate an online censorship apparatus known as the "Great Firewall", which blocks a slew of websites including Facebook, Twitter and several foreign media outlets.

But it was not clear whether or not Bing joined the long list of prohibited websites, or if its China service was experiencing technical difficulties.

China's cyberspace administration could not immediately be reached for comment.

China's Great Firewall can be circumvented by using a virtual private network (VPN), which can hide a user's IP address.

While its rival Google shut down its search engine in China in 2010 after rows over censorship and hacking, Bing has continued to operate in the country along with Microsoft-owned Skype.

On Weibo, China's Twitter-like social media site, people complained about the lack of access, with some speculating that Bing too had been "walled off".

Others aired their dissatisfaction about having to use Baidu, China's largest domestic search service.

"I can't open Bing, but I don't want to use Baidu -- what to do?" wrote one user.

"Bing is actually dead -- is this to force me to use Baidu??" said another, cursing.

China has tightened policing of the internet in recent years, shuttering 26,000 "illegal" websites in 2018 alone and deleting six million online posts containing vulgar content, the official Xinhua news agency said earlier this month.

Bing's disruption comes as the United States and China are locked in a bruising trade war, with US accusations that China steals technological know-how among the core disagreements.

The two sides are scheduled for new trade negotiations next week.

Microsoft was investigating a disruption in its Bing search engine in China on Thursday, with social media users fearing it could be the latest foreign website to be blocked by censors.

Microsoft was investigating a disruption in its Bing search engine in China on Thursday, with social media users fearing it could be the latest foreign website to be blocked by censors. Attempts to open cn.bing.com has resulted in an error message for users since Wednesday. "We're aware of reports that Bing may be inaccessible to some customers in China and are investigating," a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement. China's Communist authorities operate an online censorship apparatus known as the "Great Firewall", which blocks a slew of websites including Facebook, Twitter and several foreign media outlets. But it was not clear whether or not Bing joined the long list of prohibited websites, or if its China service was experiencing technical difficulties. China's cyberspace administration could not immediately be reached for comment. China's Great Firewall can be circumvented by using a virtual private network (VPN), which can hide a user's IP address. While its rival Google shut down its search engine in China in 2010 after rows over censorship and hacking, Bing has continued to operate in the country along with Microsoft-owned Skype. On Weibo, China's Twitter-like social media site, people complained about the lack of access, with some speculating that Bing too had been "walled off". Others aired their dissatisfaction about having to use Baidu, China's largest domestic search service. "I can't open Bing, but I don't want to use Baidu -- what to do?" wrote one user. "Bing is actually dead -- is this to force me to use Baidu??" said another, cursing. China has tightened policing of the internet in recent years, shuttering 26,000 "illegal" websites in 2018 alone and deleting six million online posts containing vulgar content, the official Xinhua news agency said earlier this month. Bing's disruption comes as the United States and China are locked in a bruising trade war, with US accusations that China steals technological know-how among the core disagreements. The two sides are scheduled for new trade negotiations next week.

Microsoft's Bing search engine goes offline in China

Microsoft Corp's Bing search engine has been blocked in China, the company said on Wednesday, making it the latest foreign technology service to be shut down behind the country's Great Firewall.

"We've confirmed that Bing is currently inaccessible in China and are engaged to determine next steps," the company said in a statement.

It is the US&nbsp;technology giant's second setback in China since November 2017 when its Skype internet phone call and messaging service was pulled from Apple and Android app stores.

A search performed on Bing's China website - cn.bing.com - from within mainland China directs the user to a page that says the server cannot be reached.

The Financial Times, citing a source, reported on Wednesday that China Unicom, a major state-owned telecommunication company, had confirmed the government order to block the search engine.

Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), a government watchdog, did not respond to faxed questions about Bing's blocked website.

Bing was the only major foreign search engine accessible from within China's so-called Great Firewall. Microsoft censored search results on sensitive topics, in accordance with government policy.

Microsoft also has a partnership with Chinese data center provider 21Vianet to offer its products Azure and Office 365 to clients in the country.

Alphabet's Google search platform has been blocked in China since 2010. Google CEO Sundar Pichai said in December it has "no plans" to relaunch a search engine in China though it is continuing to study the idea amid increased scrutiny of big tech firms.

President Xi Jinping has accelerated control of the internet in China since 2016, as the ruling Communist Party seeks to crack down on dissent in the social media landscape.

In a statement on Wednesday, CAC said it had deleted more than 7 million pieces of online information and 9,382 mobile apps. It also criticized technology company Tencent's news app for spreading "vulgar information."

Microsoft Corp's Bing search engine has been blocked in China, the company said on Wednesday, making it the latest foreign technology service to be shut down behind the country's Great Firewall.

Microsoft Corp's Bing search engine has been blocked in China, the company said on Wednesday, making it the latest foreign technology service to be shut down behind the country's Great Firewall. "We've confirmed that Bing is currently inaccessible in China and are engaged to determine next steps," the company said in a statement. It is the US technology giant's second setback in China since November 2017 when its Skype internet phone call and messaging service was pulled from Apple and Android app stores. A search performed on Bing's China website - cn.bing.com - from within mainland China directs the user to a page that says the server cannot be reached. The Financial Times, citing a source, reported on Wednesday that China Unicom, a major state-owned telecommunication company, had confirmed the government order to block the search engine. Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), a government watchdog, did not respond to faxed questions about Bing's blocked website. Bing was the only major foreign search engine accessible from within China's so-called Great Firewall. Microsoft censored search results on sensitive topics, in accordance with government policy. Microsoft also has a partnership with Chinese data center provider 21Vianet to offer its products Azure and Office 365 to clients in the country. Alphabet's Google search platform has been blocked in China since 2010. Google CEO Sundar Pichai said in December it has "no plans" to relaunch a search engine in China though it is continuing to study the idea amid increased scrutiny of big tech firms. President Xi Jinping has accelerated control of the internet in China since 2016, as the ruling Communist Party seeks to crack down on dissent in the social media landscape. In a statement on Wednesday, CAC said it had deleted more than 7 million pieces of online information and 9,382 mobile apps. It also criticized technology company Tencent's news app for spreading "vulgar information."

Microsoft says Bing search engine blocked in China