Google Calls Out China for Screwing Up Gmail

[370999]

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.

I think many groups/entities think they're better than China, seeing as it has the label of 'dictatorship', just saying.

I say this with limited political experience, but has ANY government ever operated without making a large group of people dislike them? It doesn't feel like it, these days.

Well the Nazis weren't the number one government in the hearts of Jews. Likewise the Iranain government didn't fall due to the recent student protests.

 

[Still Life]

I'd throw a brick through my window, too.

 

[Sporky111]

I was of the impression that Google already pulled out of China altogether, and that none of its services were available there anymore. So is this an attack on the non-Chinese versions of the site?

I hope this doesn't distract people too much from the acts of censorship committed by Google on the internet.

If you're talking about the ones I'm thinking about, those were done at the demands of governments and companies that Google still has to answer to. Google openly defying the laws of the countries it does business in and getting away with it would actually be more unsettling, to me.

"Demands" and "laws" are not equal, and I don't think a government should be conspiring with a powerful information tool on the internet to censor, just like I wouldn't want them conspiring with any other organization to subvert the rights of citizens.

And I hope by "unsettling" you mean how you feel about what Google's doing in China. The government there might say China is defying their law. And I did say above that I don't like the idea of a corporation having more power than a government (as you snipped out). But so far Google has just exposed what has happened; now it is up to them whether to fight it, or to stop doing business with them (which would likely do great harm to any revolutionary groups using their service). Neither solution is desirable, but I think that as long as every other nation out there is covering their eyes with their wallets and not seeing what's going on in China I say more power to the people.

 

[millertime059]

These kinds of revolutions are often, for the incumbent government, the death of a thousand papercuts.

No one thing really seems to motivate everybody to stop complying. They just get more and more fed up, little by little. Intrusive police are one cut, ineffectual bureaucracy another, high taxes might be another, messing with email one more, etc. so that you can never really say for sure which mistake was the downfall of the state.

Specifically screwing directly with people who are already disgruntled and already making movements of protest, however, has the potential to be a very big papercut, though.

A valid point, one that too many governments forget. Everyone has their triggers, and no one thing will trigger an entire populace. I'm a much more politically minded person than most, so my triggers are faster, the net neutrality stuff, as well as our governments pork belly projects get me peeved quickly. the average person wouldn't notice. The censorship thing is something the average person won't often encounter. They don't care until it affects them more. The not being able to talk to family in Japan is just the kind of thing to do it too. You can't talk to your kids/ parents because the government decided that noone can talk about the tsunami? Where's my guns and torches folks, city hall is gonna burn.

Oh yeah, sure, Blame China when your "service" has a hiccup. Couldnt possibly be an error on Googles side, because you know, much like Steve Jobs, Google is infallible.

I don't care one way or the other where blame is. Service hiccups happen, so if it happened then it's nothing unusual. The important thing to me isn't that they said China did it, but that it is completely reasonable and even likely to believe China did it, without any real evidence needed. When someone can say your country hacked a major multinational corporation, one of the biggest in the world, and nobody will doubt for a second that this is possible? Bad times China, you lose the game.

 

[Steve the Pocket]

I was of the impression that Google already pulled out of China altogether, and that none of its services were available there anymore. So is this an attack on the non-Chinese versions of the site?

I hope this doesn't distract people too much from the acts of censorship committed by Google on the internet.

If you're talking about the ones I'm thinking about, those were done at the demands of governments and companies that Google still has to answer to. Google openly defying the laws of the countries it does business in and getting away with it would actually be more unsettling, to me.

"Demands" and "laws" are not equal, and I don't think a government should be conspiring with a powerful information tool on the internet to censor, just like I wouldn't want them conspiring with any other organization to subvert the rights of citizens.

And I hope by "unsettling" you mean how you feel about what Google's doing in China. The government there might say China is defying their law. And I did say above that I don't like the idea of a corporation having more power than a government (as you snipped out). But so far Google has just exposed what has happened; now it is up to them whether to fight it, or to stop doing business with them (which would likely do great harm to any revolutionary groups using their service). Neither solution is desirable, but I think that as long as every other nation out there is covering their eyes with their wallets and not seeing what's going on in China I say more power to the people.

So basically, they've grown unsettlingly powerful, but it's better for them to duke it out with the other unsettlingly powerful entities out there than ally with them and create something even more unsettlingly powerful? Yeah, I can dig that.

 

[IamGamer41]

Wonder if the USA would still have to pay China back if its people overthrow the government?If the USA helped them do it Id say we call it even.

 

[Littlee300]

Holy shit, my gmail account was accessed by someone in China and so was my brother's. I immediately changed the password.
Edit: http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/gmail/thread?tid=43bb9b8cf49bd661&hl=en
http://www.google.sc/support/forum/p/gmail/thread?tid=3851ed39df555b40&hl=en
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=396417
http://www.google.ms/support/forum/p/gmail/thread?tid=653f11335dff3cb6&hl=en
Does anyone see a trend here?
Edit: I don't know if it is possible that a hacker could use a proxy that says he is in China but still..
Edit 2: Sends email to friends "Long live the infallible leader of China"

 

[viranimus]

The important thing to me isn't that they said China did it, but that it is completely reasonable and even likely to believe China did it, without any real evidence needed.

Well I grant you your prolly right. My statement was more to the effect of seeing so many people blindly jumping on and condemning china based on little more than Googles accusation. However the quoted phrase above sounds like WMD talk to me.

 

[Singularly Datarific]

GOOGLE vs. CHINA

Bets are now accepted. My money is on Google.

My bet is on a billion screaming chinamen

Google Vs. Chinese GOVT.
It could be a huge electronic war, censorship vs information. Whoever gets their version of the truth through to the populace wins.

 

[Singularly Datarific]

Breaking News: Google accidentally conquers China!
"Hmmm. We weren't thinking this would happen." -CEO

 

[Littlee300]

Clearly, China is looking for a cyber-war. This looks like a job for... ANONYMOUS!!!

Jesus. Anonymous and Google Team up to take down the Chinese government and bring democracy to the world.

That sounds like goddamn fan fiction, and is therefore too stupid to make up and must happen.

Someone should make a joke movie trailer of that concept. It'd be awesome to see a army of people in the anonymous mask.

 

[roostuf]

Oh thats our china. (audience laughs).

 

[Littlee300]

GOOGLE vs. CHINA

Bets are now accepted. My money is on Google.

My bet is on a billion screaming chinamen

Google Vs. Chinese GOVT.
It could be a huge electronic war, censorship vs information. Whoever gets their version of the truth through to the populace wins.

This just in: Stem cells have been used to revive Chairman Mao as the leader of the censorship act. The Chinese government had this to say
"Well he already proved he was good at it, so why not?"

 

[Apocalypse Tank]

Except when the PRC is seriously challenged, the world is in for a can of hurt. I sure hope those who are rooting against the Communist regime to prepare for a shock in their national price levels.

So what if there is censorship? Are personal liberties in China more important than the economic stability of the world?

The PRC does what it wants for a reason.

 

[Android2137]

Holy shit, my gmail account was accessed by someone in China and so was my brother's. I immediately changed the password.
Edit: http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/gmail/thread?tid=43bb9b8cf49bd661&hl=en
http://www.google.sc/support/forum/p/gmail/thread?tid=3851ed39df555b40&hl=en
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=396417
http://www.google.ms/support/forum/p/gmail/thread?tid=653f11335dff3cb6&hl=en
Does anyone see a trend here?
Edit: I don't know if it is possible that a hacker could use a proxy that says he is in China but still..
Edit 2: Sends email to friends "Long live the infallible leader of China"

*shudders* Just checked my gmail and fortunately, the only one who ever accessed it was me. It's a fairly new account though, so it's not like I have much in it...
As for your edit 2, I thought one would only have to say such things in North Korea... But then again, they don't have access to the internet...

 

[Numb1lp]

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.

Wait, what do you mean you see where they're coming from?