The long tail - MMHK Nov 07

techdirt

URL: http://www.techdirt.com/

Blogger: Mike Masnick

The Post: Better Understanding China's Online Censorship

What is says Contrary to popular belief, the Great Firewall of China doesn't necessarily work by having a big ban list, but by simply having government officials threaten companies that let in the "bad stuff," says Masnick.

"Then, those companies feel the need to self-censor whatever the government might not like - probably going overboard in the process. In other words, they're trying to outsource the job of censoring by creating a fearful atmosphere that is more likely to censor any potentially problematic site without waiting for word from the government," he adds.

 

The Hong Kong Diaries

URL: http://alibullock.blogspot.com/

Blogger: Ali Bullock

The Post: Internet censorship in China

What is says Local blogger Ali Bullock points to a report from Reporters Without Borders on the governments inner workings around web sites and what gets blocked by the "new great wall of China". She says the Beijing Information Office has introduced a system of "licence points" for websites. As well as being fined, sites can have points withdrawn. If they loose all their points, they risk to get their license withdrawn. But they have the possibility of recovering lost points and are encouraged to do so.

"Its essential to read this document if you want to advertise or work the online space in China. Of course Google and Yahoo! self-sensor articles and have handed over blogger details to the authorities, hence the need to move the "Don't be evil tag". This is China. And we are going to see a lot more of this, which is a shame."

 

TechCrunch

URL: http://www.techcrunch.com

Blogger: Duncan Riley

The Post: Cyberwar: China Declares War On Western Search Sites

What is says Further to an earlier blog, which said that Google was being redirected to Baidu in China, new reports have surfaced that would indicate that China has unilaterally blocked three major search engines, Google, Yahoo! and Live.com, and redirected all requests to Baidu. Riley says the re-direct also applies to YouTube.

"There is some suggestion that the news of the Dalai Lama being awarded a prize by US President George W Bush may be behind the move, but this is unable to be confirmed," Riley says.

"China expects free and open access to Western nations but is now not only blocking, but also redirecting domestic traffic away from Western internet sites that compete with local firms."

 

URL: http: http://blogoscoped.com/

Blogger: Philipp Lenssen

The Post: Schmidt on Google's China Self-Censorship

What is says blogoscoped, the unofficial Google monitor, publishes an interview with Google's CEO Eric Schmidt defending the company's decision to self-censor.

"I think it's arrogant for us to walk into a country where we are just beginning to operate and tell that country how to operate. There are many cases where certain information is not available due to local law or local custom," Schmidt says.

But Lenssen argues that Google hasn't lobbied Beijing to change its rules, and that Google hasn't tried to change such limits elsewhere (e.g. in Germany, where certain Nazi sites are self-censored in Google result).

"As time passes, Google is becoming a little more self-assured and cocky about its decision - after all, the issue was never about Google telling the Chinese how to operate, but about the Chinese (successfully) telling Google how to operate," Lenssen says.