4 ms·
China allowed US social media as long as they allowed China to supervise content including censorships
by eunos 4y ago
China allowed US social media as long as they allowed China to supervise content including censorships
- seanmcdirmid 4y agoNo, that is assumed, but China never extended that offer. Censorship in China is itself censored, so they don't technically admit to banning any US social media, it simply doesn't work for reasons.
- eunos 4y agoTwitter, Quora, Facebook was not blocked for some times. Few apps like LinkedIn complied with Chinese govt.
- seanmcdirmid 4y agoThey weren't blocked and then they were, but there was no law to do it, there was no published official action to do it, it was just not working one day for reasons. There are no formal instructions to "comply", you have to rely solely on your guanxi to do it, and then the work needed to stay in good graces with government basically amounts to "don't make us mad" (like, no stories about Xi's family wealth, no embarrassing the government, everything else might get you a hand wringing but can be forgiven). They have to work like this because freedom of speech is guaranteed in the Chinese constitution. But since China isn’t really a rule of law country, the Chinese government works through it informally, which isn’t very compatible in how western companies can work.
- anon38474924 4y agoFacebook was blocked after the 2009 Xinjiang terrorist attacks. ETIM was using it to coordinate their attacks and Facebook didn't work with the government.
- seanmcdirmid 4y agoIt was actually blocked during/after the riots. The terrorist attack, if you mean kunming, happened a few years later. Frankly, it would have happened earlier if it wasn’t for the 2008 Olympics, a lot of face was riding on not blocking western internet services until after the Olympics were completed.
- orhmeh09 4y agoWhen you put it that way, it sounds like China and the USA have a lot in common, given the cozy relations between tech companies and politicians.
- seanmcdirmid 4y agoWe are arguing about a law that was passed in public with text anyone can read. That could never happen in China.
- nitwit005 4y agoOn paper, sure. A long series of companies has given up at this point. Even LinkedIn, which should be far easier to manage given the content, eventually stripped out all social features. Google claimed China was actively targeting them with cyberattacks, breaking into the gmail inboxes of activists, and other severe problems, despite trying to follow local law.