Google wants to be everywhere. But various regimes around the world don’t always want the American Internet giant snooping around, so Google doesn’t always get the penetration it wants. China, for instance, blocked Google (the #3 search engine there) ahead of the recent Tiananmen Square anniversary and sometimes blocks Google Services.
But often Google’s chief obstacle in penetrating other countries isn’t that country’s reluctant, suspicious leadership–it’s the USA. As Google writes, “U.S. export controls and sanctions can sometimes limit the products available in certain countries.” But Google keeps pushing and “as trade restrictions evolve” the company finds ways in. A post yesterday on Google+ announced that the Chrome browser will now be available in Cuba, a country facing some of the US’s strictest export controls. “In the past couple years we’ve made Chrome downloadable in Syria and Iran. We’re happy to say that Internet users in Cuba can now use Chrome too, and browse the web faster and more safely than they could before.”
