An official Beijing newspaper has warned Google that it could face ‘serious consequences’ after it accused China of hacking into its Gmail accounts.
The People’s Daily, the leading newspaper of China’s ruling Communist Party, termed Google as a “political tool” and added that tensions between the United States and China over Internet security could extend further after the accusations.
Google had earlier announced that it had stopped a hacking attempt from taking place which was aimed at stealing the passwords of hundreds of Google email account holders which included US government officials, Chinese human rights advocates and journalists.
The search giant also added that the attacks appeared to have originated from China.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry rejected the accusations.
The paper accused Google of “deliberately pandering to negative Western perceptions of China, and strongly hinting that the hacking attacks were the work of the Chinese government.”
The paper also added that “It may become sacrificed to politics and will be spurned by the marketplace.”
However it did not say how Google’s business could be hurt. Social websites like Facebook and Twitter have already been blocked in China.
The latest claims by Google could bring Internet policy back to the foreground of U.
S-China relations.
It could also raise tensions again after Google’s complaints earlier last year about hacking and censorship from China which made the Obama administration step in and take up the matter with China.