14 DAY TRIAL // Google has refused to comply with a new requirement in Kazakhstan which now demands that all websites using a .kz domain name must have servers physically located in the country. Google has criticized the move, saying it creates an internet with borders and limits the experience for local users.
As such, the company will be redirecting google.kz visitors to the main google.com search engine from now on, a move that also limits the experience for local users.
"Last month, the Kazakhstan Network Information Centre notified us of an order issued by the Ministry of Communications and Information in Kazakhstan that requires all .kz domain names, such as google.kz, to operate on physical servers within the borders of that country," Bill Coughran, SVP, Research & Systems Infrastructure at Google, wrote.
"This requirement means that Google would have to route all searches on google.kz to servers located inside Kazakhstan," he said.
"We find ourselves in a difficult situation: creating borders on the web raises important questions for us not only about network efficiency but also about user privacy and free expression," he added.
"So we have decided to redirect users that visit google.kz to google.com in Kazakh," he announced.
Kazakhstan is now requiring anyone that wants to use a .kz ccTLD to have traffic routed and served from within the country. The move can be justified, in a way, it could be meant to help the local economy by spurring the creation of more data centers.
But more control over communications is another 'benefit' of this. Given that plenty of governments are seeking to have more control over internet connections, the move would not be that surprising.
Whatever the case, it creates several problems for Google. On the one hand, there's the technical aspect, a local data center would be best for those in the country, but not all accessing google.kz would be coming from within the borders, and the benefits would be marginal and not justify the investment.
But there's more to it, Google left China over censorship in the country, and it doesn't want to find itself in the position of doing again. Granted, effectively shutting down the Google Kazakhstan website doesn't seem like the greatest of solutions either.