Monday 18 April 2016

(64) Publishing platform Medium may be blocked in China, reports say

Link: http://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/apr/15/medium-blocked-china-internet-censorship

china internet blog
 
Summary:
 
A US-based online publishing platform, Medium, has been blocked in China, according to users and tests by Reuters, the latest service to apparently be affected as Beijing exerts greater control over the internet. Medium, which allows users, including companies and media outlets, to post blogs that readers can annotate, has been inaccessible since at least early this week, according to internet users in China and tests by Reuters using tools developed by anti-censorship watchdog GreatFire.org. It was not immediately apparent why Medium was blocked. China has moved to limit access to coverage of the matter and has censored online reports about it. Officials say internet restrictions are needed to ensure security in the face of rising threats, such as terrorism.
 
Key data/statistical information:
 
  • San Francisco-based Medium did not respond to emailed questions outside normal US working hours
  • Also last week, Medium said more than a dozen media outlets would start publishing on its site, an arrangement that would have allowed publications whose websites are blocked in China to reach users in the country
  • The websites of several major media outlets are also blocked, including those of the Economist and Time, which both become inaccessible last week after they ran articles critical of President Xi Jinping
 
What's my view?
 
This shows security issues. Also, from a Marxist view, it shows that the elite people still have control over what the audience is allowed to see. Not every country has reached the same level of freedom to conform to media as western countries have. Major censorship seems to be happening in China.

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