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Facebook suspended Mr. Guo’s account. In a statement, the company said the account published the personal information of others without their consent, which vio

Facebook suspended Mr. Guo’s account. In a statement, the company said the account published the personal information of others without their consent, which violated the platform’s policies. Zuckerberg wants to be in China in such a bad way. He's learned Mandarin, plays up his family connections (via his wife's family), and puts on the charm when visiting China. He's created relationships with officials at every level. His representatives have talked with companies which may be partners or acquired at some point. It does not surprise me one bit that Facebook will bend over backwards to accommodate officials on censorship demands. This is the cost of doing business in China for a tech company. Media companies learned this decades ago - read up on how Rupert Murdoch was able to operate there, it's quite fascinating. Now it's Silicon Valley's turn, especially companies that specialize in communication -- social networks, phone manufacturers, companies that sell networking hardware, etc. The Chinese government's survival depends on information control, and if they can't do it themselves, then they force local and foreign companies to do it for them. Don't think that this issue will be limited to human rights activists. It doesn't matter who you are -- your social media comments, family relationships, WeChat and Facebook messages, work connections on LinkedIn, and other digital footprints that reflect your attitude or influence will be used to build a social media score that determines your level of access to the country and ability to do business in China. The scary prospect is that other countries will do the same thing ... if they haven't done so already.

AnimalMuppet 9y ago
Did Mr. Guo in fact publish the personal information of others? If so, should Facebook make an exception for him because he's an activist? (If he didn't, then of course Facebook should, first, not suspend his account to appease China, and second, not lie about why they did.)
- incompatible 9y ago
  I suppose corrupt dealings are personal details, so exposing corrupt dealings (in a credible way, with details) is likely to involve publishing the personal information of others.
seanmcdirmid 9y ago
The way Zuckerberg has gone about it, I think he is awkwardly a sinophile, he isn't doing those things just to (or even primarily to) get Facebook into China.
- Hydraulix989 9y ago
  By giving off this impression, all the better for his agenda.
- mc32 9y ago
  Do you mean an Sinophile or do you mean he has a Chinese fetish. They are different things. One may be benign, where the other may mean there could be an issue.
  - seanmcdirmid 9y ago
    "Sinophile" is a pretty standard word with no perverted fetish meaning, see wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinophile https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinophile > A Sinophile or a Chinophile is a person who demonstrates a strong interest and love for Chinese culture or its people.[1] It is also commonly used to describe those knowledgeable of Chinese history and culture (such as scholars and students), non-native Chinese language speakers, pro-Chinese politicians, and people perceived as having a strong interest in any of the above. That the combining form -phile is also used for perverted things doesn't negate its rather benign meaning.
    - mc32 9y ago
      Sorry, yes, I know the diff. I mean, I know Francophiles and Anglophiles [and obvs. Sinophiles]. And I meant fetish not in the sexual fetish context, but fetish as in fetishizing something. Do they mean Zuck fetishizes China [as in ethnic fetishism [1]]or that he simply "likes" China, but does not fetishize it. [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racial_fetishism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racial_fetishism
      - 9y ago
Slansitartop 9y ago
> Zuckerberg wants to be in China in such a bad way. He's learned Mandarin... He even positively blurbed Xi's doorstop of a book: https://www.amazon.com/Xi-Jinping-Governance-English-Language/dp/1602204098 https://www.amazon.com/Xi-Jinping-Governance-English-Languag...
whatyoucantsay 9y ago
>> China leaned heavily on major internet companies when Guo Wengui, a Chinese tycoon in self-imposed exile, went on Facebook and YouTube to accuse a number of Chinese officials of corruption... > Facebook suspended Mr. Guo’s account. In a statement, the company said the account published the personal information of others without their consent, which violated the platform’s policies. One way to test the truthfulness of Facebook's claim is to see whether or not they suspend the accounts of users who make corruption claims about US officials. Surely there were a lot of such claims involving personal information about politicians during the last election cycle. Did Facebook suspend those accounts?

AnimalMuppet 9y ago

Did Mr. Guo in fact publish the personal information of others? If so, should Facebook make an exception for him because he's an activist? (If he didn't, then of course Facebook should, first, not suspend his account to appease China, and second, not lie about why they did.)

incompatible 9y ago
I suppose corrupt dealings are personal details, so exposing corrupt dealings (in a credible way, with details) is likely to involve publishing the personal information of others.

seanmcdirmid 9y ago

The way Zuckerberg has gone about it, I think he is awkwardly a sinophile, he isn't doing those things just to (or even primarily to) get Facebook into China.

Hydraulix989 9y ago
By giving off this impression, all the better for his agenda.
mc32 9y ago
Do you mean an Sinophile or do you mean he has a Chinese fetish. They are different things. One may be benign, where the other may mean there could be an issue.
- seanmcdirmid 9y ago
  "Sinophile" is a pretty standard word with no perverted fetish meaning, see wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinophile https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinophile > A Sinophile or a Chinophile is a person who demonstrates a strong interest and love for Chinese culture or its people.[1] It is also commonly used to describe those knowledgeable of Chinese history and culture (such as scholars and students), non-native Chinese language speakers, pro-Chinese politicians, and people perceived as having a strong interest in any of the above. That the combining form -phile is also used for perverted things doesn't negate its rather benign meaning.
  - mc32 9y ago
    Sorry, yes, I know the diff. I mean, I know Francophiles and Anglophiles [and obvs. Sinophiles]. And I meant fetish not in the sexual fetish context, but fetish as in fetishizing something. Do they mean Zuck fetishizes China [as in ethnic fetishism [1]]or that he simply "likes" China, but does not fetishize it. [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racial_fetishism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racial_fetishism
    - 9y ago

Slansitartop 9y ago

> Zuckerberg wants to be in China in such a bad way. He's learned Mandarin... He even positively blurbed Xi's doorstop of a book: https://www.amazon.com/Xi-Jinping-Governance-English-Language/dp/1602204098 https://www.amazon.com/Xi-Jinping-Governance-English-Languag...

whatyoucantsay 9y ago

>> China leaned heavily on major internet companies when Guo Wengui, a Chinese tycoon in self-imposed exile, went on Facebook and YouTube to accuse a number of Chinese officials of corruption... > Facebook suspended Mr. Guo’s account. In a statement, the company said the account published the personal information of others without their consent, which violated the platform’s policies. One way to test the truthfulness of Facebook's claim is to see whether or not they suspend the accounts of users who make corruption claims about US officials. Surely there were a lot of such claims involving personal information about politicians during the last election cycle. Did Facebook suspend those accounts?