China bans Youtube

#1

Post by vaksel » Wed, Mar 25, 2009, 1:27 PM UTC

China bans Youtube
reuters.com

Re: China bans Youtube

#2

Post by garply » Wed, Mar 25, 2009, 2:16 PM UTC

Does anyone know if the ban is nation-wide? I was under the impression that bans are often province-specific.

Re: China bans Youtube

#3

Post by josefresco » Wed, Mar 25, 2009, 2:27 PM UTC

garply wrote: post #2

Does anyone know if the ban is nation-wide? I was under the impression that bans are often province-specific.

They also tend to flicker on and off, I'm reserving judgment on this until some time passes.

Re: China bans Youtube

#4

Post by jballanc » Wed, Mar 25, 2009, 2:57 PM UTC

This article is inaccurate. It makes it seem as if YouTube is no longer blocked in Turkey when, last I checked, it still is...

Re: China bans Youtube

#5

Post by petercooper » Wed, Mar 25, 2009, 3:09 PM UTC

Don't be too quick to blame this on political fear - China probably just wants to increase productivity in the workplace. Next on the chopping block.. Facebook, Digg, and Reddit.

Re: China bans Youtube

#6

Post by Retric » Wed, Mar 25, 2009, 3:52 PM UTC

jballanc wrote: post #4

This article is inaccurate. It makes it seem as if YouTube is no longer blocked in Turkey when, last I checked, it still is...

Actuality, they don't say it works in Turkey only that: YouTube, which has country-specific sites in 23 countries, has in the past been blocked in certain countries, including Turkey which might suggest it currently works but does not say so.

Anyway, while I don't think it's an issue with Turkey I expect China blocking YouTube might become a free trade issue.

Re: China bans Youtube

#7

Post by garply » Wed, Mar 25, 2009, 3:56 PM UTC

Retric wrote: post #6

jballanc wrote: post #4

This article is inaccurate. It makes it seem as if YouTube is no longer blocked in Turkey when, last I checked, it still is...

Actuality, they don't say it works in Turkey only that: YouTube, which has country-specific sites in 23 countries, has in the past been blocked in certain countries, including Turkey which might suggest it currently works but does not say so. Anyway, while I don't think it's an issue with Turkey I expect China blocking YouTube might become a free trade issue.

I hadn't thought about that angle - I'm sure Youku and Tudou, the native competitors, are getting huge traffic surges right now.

Re: China bans Youtube

#8

Post by dinkumthinkum » Wed, Mar 25, 2009, 4:08 PM UTC

petercooper wrote: post #5

Don't be too quick to blame this on political fear - China probably just wants to increase productivity in the workplace. Next on the chopping block.. Facebook, Digg, and Reddit.

You've got to be kidding. Stifling another outlet for free speech is just to get a few more widgets produced per day right? Of course it has nothing to do with political fear, even though every other instance of such an action did. Right, you can't be serious.

Re: China bans Youtube

#9

Post by marksutherland » Wed, Mar 25, 2009, 4:31 PM UTC

dinkumthinkum wrote: post #8

petercooper wrote: post #5

Don't be too quick to blame this on political fear - China probably just wants to increase productivity in the workplace. Next on the chopping block.. Facebook, Digg, and Reddit.

You've got to be kidding. Stifling another outlet for free speech is just to get a few more widgets produced per day right? Of course it has nothing to do with political fear, even though every other instance of such an action did. Right, you can't be serious.

It can't be both? The percieved benefits of protectionism, combined with the squelching of unsavoury opinions and other content must be very appealing.

Re: China bans Youtube

#10

Post by megaduck » Wed, Mar 25, 2009, 4:32 PM UTC

petercooper wrote: post #5

Don't be too quick to blame this on political fear - China probably just wants to increase productivity in the workplace. Next on the chopping block.. Facebook, Digg, and Reddit.

Actually, you can blame this one directly on political fear. Recently, video footage of Chinese police savagely beating prone Tibetan protesters got posted onto YouTube. Next thing you know, WHAM! Blocked.

There's a lot of precedent for this, too. The government blocked the whole iTunes store when a music single with the word "Tibet" in it hit the front page. They frequently ban news sites whenever news from Tibet (especially negative news) hits. It doesn't last forever, though. After things simmer down, they'll usually lift the general block and just keep targeted blocks on specific stories or pages.

I'm hoping YouTube comes back soon. Sometimes domains that were totally banned spontaneously become free and clear. Any blogs hosted by Wordpress were blocked until this last week. Now, no problem. Same thing with Andrew Sullivan's blog, and half a dozen other sites. I think it's just to keep people guessing.