Google shuts down translation feature in China

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this report incorrectly described Dragonfly.

Google has shut down its translation services in China, citing low usage in the mainland country. 

Google confirmed the move in a statement to The Hill on Monday after CNBC reported that the website dedicated to the translation service now redirects users to the Hong Kong version of the service. 

“We are discontinuing Google Translate in mainland China due to low usage,” Google told The Hill in a statement. 

Bloomberg News also reported that the Hong Kong version of the translation service isn’t accessible in the area without a virtual private network. 

Google has struggled to gain traction in China amid competition from other web search engines, such as China-based Alibaba, and pulled its search engine from the country in 2010 due to strict censorship rules.

The tech giant in 2018 also showed interest in creating a censored search engine, referred to as Dragonfly, in order to comply with Chinese speech restrictions and tap into the country’s market.

The proposed initiative was pulled back after receiving criticism from local politicians and Google employees. 

–Updated on Oct. 4 at 6:00 a.m.