Google Calls Out China for Screwing Up Gmail

Greg Tito

PR for Dungeons & Dragons
Sep 29, 2005
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Google Calls Out China for Screwing Up Gmail



Google said its email service is the target of a sophisticated attack by the Chinese government.

Seeing what's happening in the Middle East and Northern Africa must have the officials of the Chinese government pretty freaked out that a similar revolution might overthrow the last Communist superpower. Since Google began operating in China in 2005, the company has had a contentious relationship with the government as it demanded Google cooperate in censoring its people. This January, Google became aware of attacks on its services, and moved its operations to Hong Kong in response. Now, Google has been noticing some irregularities in its email service for human rights activists in China, and the company believes that Gmail is under attack by the government in order to throttle any possible "jasmine revolution" - a burgeoning online movement to overthrow the Chinese government inspired by events in Egypt and Libya.

"Relating to Google there is no issue on our side. We have checked extensively. This is a government blockage carefully designed to look like the problem is with Gmail," said a spokesman from Google.

On March 11th, Google said on its blog that it believed something fishy was going on when it "noticed some highly targeted and apparently politically motivated attacks against our users. We believe activists may have been a specific target." After working with Microsoft to fix a possible exploit with Internet Explorer, Google now believes that the only entity capable of such a targeted attack is the government of China.

Technology experts have weighed in that the difficulty of detecting the source of the attack was carefully designed. "In the wake of what is happening in the Middle East I don't think China wants to be seen making heavy-handed attacks on the internet, that would draw too much attention," said an unnamed internet executive.

China is notorious for censoring and controlling information, and that policy has extended on the internet. Any revolutionary news of the events in Middle East and North Africa or mention of the Dalai Lama of nearby Tibet is not permissible. Even the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan is considered dangerous to the State. An effort organized by Google to help family members find lost loved ones has been shut down in China.

Given the revolutions of long-standing dictatorships this year all over the world, and the role that communication over the internet has served in these uprisings, it certainly makes sense for China to be wary of Google. But in a Catch-22, censorship is exactly why these dissidents and revolutionaries are motivating and the latest heavy-handedness by the Chinese government to smite Gmail might actually be the superpower's undoing.

I might take a little censorship here and there, but if you mess with my Gmail, I'm gonna throw a brick through a window.

Source: The Guardian [http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/mar/20/google-gmail]

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Dec 14, 2009
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What happens when an overbearing, overprotective mother becomes a country?

You get China.

[sub]Except, instead of disowning people who disagree with it, those people go 'missing' instead...[/sub]
 

Megawat22

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Aug 7, 2010
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I can see where China's coming from with all the censorship, but it will only make the situation worse when the information all comes flooding out.
Also I got the feeling that Google seems to think it's better than China. If China wants to block stuff off that's just something China or the UN or whoever is in charge of this stuff, has to deal with. Not Google.
 

Bretty

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Jul 15, 2008
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I speak with Chinese people often and it amazes me how many of them just want to leave the country. The sad thing is though, you are more likely to leave China if you are wealthy and educated.

China will change as their middle class grows. The problem with people that have education is that they are able to think for themselves and do what they want. The Chinese gov't just cant keep hold forever and remain their 'mother' country, they will have to become 'iron fisted' a some point.
 

Rex Fallout

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Oct 5, 2010
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The PRC and the CCP need to be overthrown its tirade of forcing abortions, imprisoning peaceful protesters and censoring the news needs to stop. While we here in America can see the Libya revolution as an obvious cry from the people for democracy, they don't hear about it at all, or even worse, are told by their government that this spilled blood is all that democracy has to offer. The day will come when the CCP pays for the atrocities it has dealt to mankind, I just pray that I am there to see them get the punishment they deserve.
 

Colinmac93

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Mar 20, 2011
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I love how Google seems to hate the Chinese government, talking about them like they want to go to war with them.
 

SnipErlite

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Aug 16, 2009
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FogHornG36 said:
My bet is on a billion screaming chinamen
For some reason your post made me think of
Always gives me a laugh

Anyway OT: Hmm. Good to see google isn't bowing down to this. Censorship sucks.
 

Fappy

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Jan 4, 2010
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I can picture it now....

The year is 2025..., "And that students, is how Google overthrew the Chinese government."
 

ikrit

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Sep 24, 2009
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'Bout time Google actually started to step in on the whole human rights thing.
 

Super Jamz

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Apr 16, 2009
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*sigh* and just as i changed my email to gmail.

It really has been a slippery slope for google's business in china right?
 

theriddlen

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Apr 6, 2010
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You know, i while listening to some best part of Matrix soundtrack, reading this article felt like action movie:D

Also, go freedom!
 

SlugLady28

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Feb 24, 2011
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Fappy said:
I can picture it now....

The year is 2025..., "And that students, is how Google overthrew the Chinese government."
XD I'd say that was wrong but...

Seriously China. You're blocking people from finding they're love ones?
 

Sniper Team 4

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Apr 28, 2010
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Baffling. I wonder what it's like to live in a country where you're not allowed to hear stuff about natural disasters. If your loved one is missing, too bad.