Is Google Maps China About to Be Shut Down? Probably Not.

Is Google Maps about to disappear from China? Probably Not.

China News Service is reporting today that Google Maps may be on its way out in China. If true, the loss would impact millions of Android smartphone users who use the built-in mapping service to navigate on their phones. It would also be great news for Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) and other Chinese net firms with mapping services.

It appears, however, that this report isn’t accurate. Google has applied for a maps license, it turns out, and from what I can tell, a disturbance of Google Maps service in China seems unlikely. Penn Olson spoke with a representative from Google, who told us:

We’re currently in discussions with the government about how we could offer a maps product in China.

Even Google’s rivals appear to be playing down the significance of the China News Service report. Sougou Maps CEO Kong Xianglai is quoted in the China News Service piece as saying, “This situation isn’t as serious as [people] imagine,” and a Baidu Maps rep suggested the implementation of this regulation wouldn’t have a significant impact on the online mapping industry.

All websites that want to offer online mapping services in China were ordered last year by the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping to submit applications prior to today or cease their operation of mapping services within China. The China News Service report suggests that Google may not have filed an application, but that appears to be untrue.

It’s a good thing, too, because losing Google Maps would have a pretty significant affect in China, where it is the mapping market leader by a fairly wide margin. In addition to Android mobile devices, a loss of Google Maps would impact numerous Chinese web services that have implemented Maps into their websites.

This isn’t the first time there have been questions about Google Maps’s legal status in China. Last year it also reportedly missed a deadline, and was expected to shut down on July 1, but (needless to say) that never happened and the service was not interrupted. So take reports of Google Maps’ demise with a grain of salt.

[China News Service via Sina Tech and @niubi, chart data from Analysis]