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On that note, apparently Instagram in Laos is blocking "liking" posts related to Tiananmen Square. > I’m in Laos, a close ally of China, & whenever I “Like” a
by 07d046 7y ago
On that note, apparently Instagram in Laos is blocking "liking" posts related to Tiananmen Square.
> I’m in Laos, a close ally of China, & whenever I “Like” a post on @instagram related to Tiananmen Square it comes up with a message saying “Action Blocked”. When I switch on my VPN it allow me to “Like” the images. I wonder if China provides internet infrastructure to Laos.
https://twitter.com/adamjdean/status/1135809731879088128 https://twitter.com/adamjdean/status/1135809731879088128
- asveikau 7y agoThis is a big deal if true. I can't imagine they did that without https or other encryption. It would have to be FB doing this.
- studentrob 7y agoI've often wondered how many controls Facebook gives to SE Asia in exchange for being allowed to operate there. Do they get moderator powers or alert systems? In Vietnam about 5 years ago, you could only use Facebook on your phone. It's hard for me to imagine the dictatorships of Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam welcoming Facebook and allowing the population to freely criticize the government.
- mac01021 7y agoIt's interesting that you can view the content, but just not like it.
- asveikau 7y agoI wonder if it's being logged who tries to like and fails, and if so, who has access to that info.
- PavlovsCat 7y agoSeems in line with what is known so far, e.g. https://gking.harvard.edu/publications/how-censorship-china-allows-government-criticism-silences-collective-expression https://gking.harvard.edu/publications/how-censorship-china-...
- mac01021 7y agoThat does seem consistent. But why adopt that strategy? Why not pull out the dissent by its roots?
- rellui 7y agoThey're giving them a delusion of freedom so that most won't realize they're censored or passively accept it. If the government goes all out then it might cause a revolt. Soft tactics are always scarier than hard tactics.
- studentrob 7y agoLaos is quite locked down, beyond the internet. You technically can't form a group (e.g. a book club) there without the government's consent, and it is very hard for NGOs to operate. I would not be surprised at any level of internet censorship there, except that Vientiane is within cell distance of Thailand, so maybe that forces them open a little.