Bing Search Engine has been Blocked in China

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Microsoft’s Bing research engine has struck a wall in China. Bing was the final major international search engine running in China after Google (GOOGL) pulled out in 2010. The development shows that even global technology companies which distribute to Beijing’s rigorous online censorship regime can run into trouble in the nation.

Chinese users first noticed problems late Wednesday, once the term “Can’t access Bing” began popping up on social media. It was not immediately clear why Bing was being obstructed. The net regulator of China did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

They also penalize websites which fail to weed out stuff like pornography and primitive content the ruling Communist Party considers vulgar or otherwise detrimental to society.

Bing managed to run its Chinese site, cn.bing.com, because it censored search results. China is exporting the Great Firewall as net freedom declines across the world.

But China has hundreds of millions of internet users and a thriving online shopping market, making it impossible for leading tech businesses to discount.

Google came under fire last year after news surfaced it was planning to launch a censored version of its search app in China. The company efficiently abandoned China in 2010 when it stopped running the censored Google.cn service.

Bing has fought to create substantial inroads in China, capturing just 2 percent of the research market.

Chinese technology firm Baidu is the most dominant player, accounting for 70 percent of the market this past year, according to research firm StatCounter. Alibaba-backed (BABA) Shenma is the 2nd largest with about 16 percent.

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