By Herman Lai, posted Mar 15, 2011 at 7:44 PM, 428 views,

Possible GFW Upgrades To Cause Google Gmail Blocks In China?

Some of the poor Chinese internet users recently are having difficulty to access to their Gmail account, which people are guessing that Chinese government upgrades the China’s Great Firewall in order to tighten the flow of information on web.

Lots of Gmail users in China complained on their Microblogs and Twitter that the service has been slow or inaccessible. Bill Bishop, an independent analyst who watches China’s Internet market, was quoted in PC World:

China routinely blocks overseas websites and takes down content it deems politically sensitive. But the problem with Gmail could mark a new tactic to disrupt services without blocking a site completely, said Bill Bishop, an independent analyst who watches China’s Internet market.

“The people behind the Great Firewall have clearly upped their game,” he said.

With Google spokeswoman Christine Chen explained the current problems in China, the service is not having any technical difficulties and it is more likely an issue on the government’s end.

As Gmail recently blocked, and other social media blocked in China, seems like the Chinese government would like to set strict policy to domestic web users in order to force them to use China’s own social network services, so does that implies a Gmail clone will come up very soon in China? With the upgrade, to use VPN to circumvent the Great Firewall might not be possible anymore.

Source: TNW