Microsoft has made it
It seems that
Microsoft's Bing search engine has angered mandarins ruling the Glorious
People's Republic of China. The country has decided to ban the search
engine because it happens to give people information on things that China
would prefer they knew nothing about.
The ban comes just before the
commemoration of the China blocks Bing ahead of the 20th anniversary of the
Tiananmen Square crackdown. Microsoft's Bing.com, Live.com and
Hotmail.com are among several internet services that have been blocked for
customers in China. Redmond has given the Chinese government a ring and
is trying to find out the best way to get its search engine accepted behind
the Great Firewall of China.
However according to Microsoft it is
committed to helping advance the free flow of information, and is committed
to encouraging transparency, due process and rule of law when it comes to
Internet governance.
Unfortunately for the Chinese government that policy
is completely the opposite of what it wants. Instead Microsoft should treat
it like an award that its search engine provides so much information that
the Chinese want to ban it.