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anonymous
Q: Instagram to be blocked in China
Unconfirmed reports from Korean Naver says Instagram's time has come to an end in China. Seems like China is shutting down ALL communication with the surrounding world. Not very surprising though.
9 years 41 weeks ago in Web & Technology - China
Defending the culture no doubt.
I have never used Instagram, so I wont miss it 
.
father:
ive used instagram, but it was pointless to me, because i dont upload pictures from my phone, and prefer to do it by computer, but instagram offers no such option
Instagram blocked.... Less opportunities for uncontrolled pictures maybe. I hate censorship with a passion, don't get me wrong. But Instagram, it's not "OMG all communications". It's bye bye haven for blurry and overblown "lifestyle" photos ^^ Get a VPN and enjoy your favorites porn... Hum, websites, I said websites.
ScotsAlan:
Yeah. And if you want to take photos go buy a camera and put them on flickr... when it's not blocked of course 
A lot of stuff is being block...
- Flickr
- Google (Google Play, Google Docs et al)
- Yahoo (many of their services)
- Youtube
- Dropbox
- OneDrive
- and a ton others...
China is really taking a HUGE step back here. This seems like it is out of desperation more than anything. They believe that "terrorists" are using these services (which are out of their control) to communicate. Or the common people are started to use these to get a glimpse on the outside world and how the world thinks of China and its government.
Sure, you can just a VPN but it is just really annoying and sealing off Western services hints that maybe trouble may be coming our way (for foreigners or foreign businesses). Chinese are just so backward.
DrMonkey:
Speaking of shooting oneself in the foot... My boss is currently trying to convince some partners abroad to switch to different tools for online discussion, because those stupid blocking are crippling our business : it's harder to have a tool that work reliably and usable by Average Joe. The partner business are like "WTF, so I gonna install that program just to communicate with you ? That's not quite convenient."
Robk:
Yup,
It has affected my business considerably. It is a huge pain in the ass, and embarrassing. Even if you use a VPN, sometimes it doesn't work with certain communication tools because the net has to loop through the VPN server than back into China slowing down the data transfer (Also VPNs get randomly blocked).
China is leaving me no choice but to move outward. The dumb part is that I was bringing in USD to China (which is essentially HELPING the Chinese economy) while they are making things more difficult for me.
I think all foreign companies should just read the sign, move their businesses elsewhere... like Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia or something... and leave China to produce and sell their crappy products. This government is REALLY not business friendly.
father:
fortunately, for every service you mentioned, there is a Chinese alternative, such as baidu, 163, youku, renren, weibo, weixin, 360, and a ton more. ive also noticed that none of you spooks ever talk about the kind of "business" youre involved in that requires google, and instagram. ive never heard of a business that couldnt live with any western websites. so are you in the business of disinformation, sabatoge, destabilisation, or all of the above? and even if youre "business" was reliant on instagram for whatever insane reason, tell me why you cant host the pictures on another site? i hear yandex has a great photo album
If they're gonna block google translate... yikes!
father:
youdao has a great translation service. liberate yourself from these western monopolies today!
coineineagh:
i checked. it's all in Chinese, genius. Not even a translate button. How does that help me? kan bu dong.
while ive noticed that nearly all foreign websites are blocked these days...i dont see how there can be a report that IG will be blocked in the future. I mean yeah its likely that it will...but do you think they held a press conference or a town hall meeting to discuss whethere blocking IG is a good move?
you can say that about any big foreign website and theres a good chance itll come true.
father:
i think there can be, because if the west was planning on doing some major propaganda work on instagram, then they knew that instagram will be blocked. i'm certain that China made a website dedicated to displaying american police brutality or injustice, the website would be shutdown in a day. you may even say that the american military industrial complex could have anticipated these blocks when it invented the internet as a weapon to spread disinformation. it;s that simple. cause and effect. you post stuff that is aimed at destabilising China, and it;s going to be blocked. as always, the ball is in the west';s court. if the west hadnt started the riots in xin jiang and lasa, who knows, maybe, facebook wouldnt be blocked today.
Scandinavian:
@father. The US has web sites that display police brutality. It is called "Free news media"
RiriRiri:
You know what, you're absolutely right father.
And the west should help China to achieve its dream by proactively locking everything from the outside as well, including the boarders. No more outside influence.
They want no social platform available outside of those proposed by the big virtual tycoons (Baidu, Tencent, Netease). Or at least keep only those officially registered with their system of mass control (see the bottom of this site, for an example).
The ultimate goal being, as always with control freaks, that no individual should be able to post anything visible on the Chinese net that can remain anonymous and untraceable. With that in mind, you quickly get the agenda and progress.
expatlife26:
I think we should celebrate the messenger for effectively managing our discussion.
father:
or maybe they just dont want the west to start a riot on their doorstep
Anonymous you need to step out from the shadows. I understand you have a secret koream source for anti china news, but youre just the kind of leader we need on this site.
Unconfirmed or not, it is a fact that you cannot get the Instagram app from Google Play in China.
Whatever happened to BBSs ? That sure was a great way of exchanging data.
Scandinavian:
By the way. This morning I am in Macau for a quick coffee session (and it is raining so waiting for my friend) As soon as my phone is on a Macanese ISP, it grinds to a halt. There are so many apps that all of a sudden has updates, the Facebook app works and notifications come in. Google Hangouts is responsive etc etc. Oh, and the coffee is pretty damn great. (but probably the same as Starbucks serves in China, I am just very tired from having been up way early)
Instagram??
whats that... heard a lot..used never..
It doesn't matter what gets blocked now..
Just stay calm until the day that you get the news:
USE OF INTERNET TO BE BANNED IN CHINA
father:
if you dont want a riot in your country, then it;s a good idea to ban the use of the internet. better yet, make your own internet. i see no reason why the west should be able to control the minds of third world youth via remote control through facebook, twitter, and google. it;s time for every country to take control back into their own hands. it's sad that China is one of the few countries in the world who dares to defy this american internet dictatorship.
Lord_hanson:
Hey father, if they don't want riots perhaps they could address the issues that are causing riots.
No email in Xinjiang for 9 days now.
VPN advice, please.
hunny797:
if i tell you some very good and 100% working vpns, will the other members be angry at me for disclosing the vpns and now that they are disclosed the govt will shut them down...as if the govt is sitting here ready to capture any mention of vpn but govt wont find out if vpn info is exchanged via PM...
I seriously doubt that mentality... however, check ur inbox
father:
i got real good advice for you. use qq mail. it's free, comes in english, and guaranteed to work in China. also works as a messenger. my advice for vpn is stay away from them, especially the vpn based in western countries. they will keep charging your credit card, long after you cancel. great way to get robbed.
MissA:
Lol. We used astrill, this was a few years back but it was great (and no, they did not overcharge or keep charging after we cancelled). Perfect access, and we could change our country of origin to get both the bbc and abc iplayers :)
naver must be on the front lines of disinforming the public, thats why it knows about these anticipated blocks. this doesnt surprise me though, as naver itself is blocked. and well, any "country" with 20,000 u.s troops on it ought to be viewed with suspicion.
expatlife26:
Yes nowadays it is said that sovreignty is a privilege and not a right. If troops from the great powers posses a location it can be said to be for them as well.
If a country wants to have its own destiny it must demonstrate to Great Britain or Austria that they have the moral authority to posses independence.
Father knows best.
coineineagh:
and if approving souvereignty is deemed to be a form of "meddling in other countries' affairs", China gets a veto of course. it's to make sure that the international community doesn't get into the habit of "meddling", because that might make a country that killed 78 million of its best, brightest and most honest citizens during peacetime an excellent target in dire need of some long-overdue "meddling"!
expatlife26:
As father understands all too well. European powers including Germany, Austria-hungary, france and great britain are presently on plan to carve up China into colonies for themselves. Is this happy? No!
Is father a troll...a wu mao...a wu mao troll or a trolling wu mao?
It seems BBC has been blocked for about a week as well. Anyone able to access the website?
Hotwater:
I wondered what was going on. I don't use the website but the app on my phone has only been able to update for the last 3 days when I've used my vpn. Only thing I can think is the HK protests but then the other UK news sites I use also report on it & aren't blocked.
Don't care I have a private VPN that will never be blocked because I am the only one using it.
Interesting, he registered back in March 2012, but didn't become active until this one instagram question. Maybe dude just really has it in for instagram?
