Google has disabled its online translation service in mainland China due to ‘low usage’ and redirected people to a Hong Kong domain that is not accessible to users within the country.
Several users reported on Reddit and other social media platforms that the Google China Translate service was inaccessible due to interruptions in their work.
A Google spokesperson told TechCrunch that the company has shut down Google Translate in mainland China “due to low usage”.
Another affected user posted, “Yes. Google Translate is shutting down CN. This will permanently redirect to the HK site.”
Earlier, Google had ended its controversial China search engine project, named Dragonfly.
The controversial Chinese search engine raised privacy, censorship and human rights concerns.
Google’s offices in the US, UK, Canada, India, Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Sweden, Switzerland and Denmark saw protests by human rights groups over plans to re-enter China through ‘Project Dragonfly’.
The search engine giant launched a search engine in China in 2006, but pulled the service out of the country in 2010, citing the Chinese government’s efforts to limit free speech and block websites.
