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Facebook is being blocked in China over the Urumqi clashes.
Rediya Kadeer, president of the World Uighur Congress, explained “social media is critical to the Uighurs’ cause” in an exclusive AllFacebook interview earlier this week. Facebook wall posts were used to spread news after Twitter shut down in Urumqi, China, AllFacebook reported Sunday.
China’s shutdown of Facebook is part of a larger social media trend where citizens are denied access to Facebook and Twitter as a means of enforcing state control over media. Google was also targeted in dramatic fashion on Chinese TV recently, when Google’s “autosuggest” search functionality was manipulated by Beijing to show how Google actually suggests that Chinese users search for porn online.
China is also watching Iran, where social media effectively provided live coverage of the election protests. An Internet exec commented to me that “it’s as exciting as the CNN coverage of the first Gulf War” to watch the protests unfold via Twitter.
Facebook Confirms China Problems:
Bloomberg covered Facebook’s coy response to being blocked in China:
“It does appear to be running slowly” in China, said Larry Yu, a spokesman for Palo Alto, California-based Facebook. “We’re looking into the matter, what the reason is for the service running slowly.”
Facebook using the words the “service is running slowly” is a bow to the power of the Chinese government. Larry’s choice of words also echoes the cautious approach to the Chinese market that all Internet majors are taking, after seeing Google’s problems in China and watching Yahoo!’s legal drama in China.
How Does the Government “Block Facebook”?
The Chinese government simply doesn’t let requests to Facebook.com be processed. Its really that simple to block Facebook. However, this level of control requires a sophisticated, large scale effort to accomplish.
China’s control over its Internet infrastructure is so complete that Internet packets addressed to Facebook servers are routinely deleted. China’s government is open about the fact that it inspects Internet traffic that 1) comes in and out of the country and 2) that travels around in the country. China uses sophisticated technologies like Deep Packet Inspection (DPI), where Internet routers analyze, drop and even save Internet packets - instead of simply passing them along (as they normally do).
China’s government control over information is not just technological - its economic. China’s government exerts control over every significant business in the country. Companies in China must be majority owned by a Chinese citizen, and even then are heavily regulated by the government. All the major corporations in China, including telecommunications and media companies, are state owned entities or are majority owned by the state. This exerts a significant level of state influence on how people receive and send information.
MySpace China
News Corp was forced to be a minority partner in MySpace China. MySpace could only launch operations in China if MySpace China was controlled and owned by a local company, and after receiving the appropriate licenses from various government ministries.
MySpace China was not targeted because it is “social media”. Yahoo Inc. and eBay Inc. both now follow China’s rules for foreign ownership of Internet companies, after attempting to reach Chinese citizens from operations based outside of China.
Future of Facebook China
Facebook may well face a permanent struggle in China. As the global leader in social media, Facebook should continue to give a voice to those challenging to the authority of the People’s Republic of China.
Will Facebook Be Banned On Every PC in China?
China recently mandated that all PCs in the country must use software called “Green Dam-Youth Escort“. Once installed, the software blocks your PC’s access to banned web sites. The Green Dam-Youth Escort software also does things we associate with spyware, like logging keystrokes, taking screen shots and sending information from your computer to third parties. If Facebook is put on the Green Dam-Youth Escort banned site list, it will dramatically impact Facebook’s international growth prospects.
Urumqi Crisis Victims
Our hearts go out to everyone killed, injured and disrupted in Urumqi. Hopefully you can read this.
Is there any info as to when facebook will start working again in China?
Their control is loosening as more and more Chinese, particular younger, become more technology literate and make use of the countless proxy services out there.
I have been working in China for a few years now. I cant wait to get out of this country. Internet speeds are garbage here, and now the crackdown on my freedom to surf has gone far enough. I can make my money somewhere else. I hope this toilet of a country all of the success in the world. But count me out. Its like living in a prison over here. And no the new generation isnt more progressive. They are brainwashed just as much as their parents. Only a robot would put up with this kind of slave experience and not revolt.
I hope the Facebook staff will do something about this. I have been a loyal user of FB ever since its early beginnings. I use the site everyday not just for communicating with friends but also for my personal business. I have invested thousands of dollars for my ads to run and I profited as well.
But now that FB is not accessible to China, how can I continue with my business? Some people thinks that it’s just a virtual world and an addiction, but for me, I use FB as a source of income to give a better future to my kids. I own a business in China, and now we are simply shutting down thanks to their governments policies.
Coming to China is the worst investment I made.
This is rubbish. The chinese don’t even use facebook. They have social networking sites of their own. AND THEY ARE NOT BANNED. How daft to thing the Chinese are organising a revolution using a foreign based website. The tools on the chinese based websites suit their language better. Stop thinking this has anything to do with Xinjiang.
no mate you dont know how is like in china indeed there were fight which i disagree with you all WESTNER who are blaming the government. but indeed i hated that fact i cannot access face in China as well. although someone of you may claim that you have lived here for ages and you are talking about Chinese are brainwashed now you are wrong. my mates. you are brainwashed by the west media. which sells the ideas that anything against chinese government is appealing to the world. I dislike Chinese government more than you do. but you just can not mamboo. yeah. I am so anoyed that I cannot access facebook. blame president of the World Uighur Congress
this is again damn wrong the site has just block my comment.
a good example of western media contradiction. they always blaming china of doing blocking now they are doing it themselves. so sad
brainwashed somewhat, they put it all on the love of their country. I understand they need to be proud of who they are, but the wealthy and highly educated do know and understand the bull happening. But there are still a lot of people here that can’t afford the best education and end up spending 1000 RMB a year for a university in small hick type towns in china with teachers that would get a job in any school with standards. I do know this for a fact because I have been teaching here for over seven years now. Progress has been made but the gov. has to worry because 1.6 Bil people is a lot. I have trouble with 30 of their children never mind hard headed dimwitted adults. some protests have happened but people here care about one thing and one thing only - themselves and the people they feel important to them. few and far between is the chinese person who cares enough about the environment to do something about it, who will help others even if it means they could harm themselves in the process, the uncorrupted official making money under the table. what freedoms we do have here is to be able to smoke virtually anywhere any time at work or not, with kids looking up to you or not, with non smokers around, to be able to litter anywhere without penalty, to drink and drive with out checks anywhere unless you cause an accident. to j-walk anywhere, etc., but I can’t forgive the fact that they won’t allow any more than a 4Mb internet connection for the public for huge top dollar! that is why facebook is slow in china!!!
edit:
But there are still a lot of people here that can’t afford the best education and end up spending 1000 RMB a year for a university in small hick type towns in china with teachers that WOULDN’T get a job in any school with standards.
but I can’t forgive the fact that they won’t allow any more than a 4Mb internet connection for the public for top dollar!
To all ppl in China who are unable to use FB. Are your locations at easy access to Hong Kong ? Lets carry your laptop and spend a day in Hong Kong. Use FB in Hong Kong. Lets boost the Hong Kong economy.
Ummm, you can use Facebook in china. Try going to Beijing and logging on to facebook. It’s easy. Same with hotmail. People don’t half talk some crap. I was there last week, and I had zero problems.
Internet speeds vary in China, like anywhere else. No worse than in the states, where large parts of the country have terrible internet/cell phone coverage.
See I just come to china after a wonderful day in thailand and I found out that Facebook is blocked!!!! WHAT!!!! HOw am I supposed to talk to my friends in thailand it is just sad!!! Just unblock facebook after a while. please
my baby lost contact with his father in facebook…
Both Facebook and Twitter are covert Zionist controlled tools to dupe the people and spread chaos and mayhem. Block the crap. Let the people of Asia unit against the criminal zionist backed bastard corporations that are in Afghanistan and Iraq. Kick them out.These satanic groups need to go.