So... Blogspot is working again, but now it's YouTube (nooooo!!!) that's been blocked. What is that, like a trade? I'm willing to put up with blocks on blogging sites (so long as I can post), but taking away my YouTube is going too far. Are you listening, Chinese censors?
I've seen two common theories for why this is happening. One is the ongoing 17th Communist Party Congress, which began on Monday in Beijing. YouTube stopped working Wednesday night. But it's more likely that it has to do with YouTube recently launching Chinese-language versions for Hong Kong and Taiwan. If no one can access regular YouTube, they'll have to use the new version -- thus driving up advertising revenue. The congress ends on Sunday, so hopefully the site will be back online by then. Otherwise, where am I going to watch clips of cats playing the piano and totally unhinged fans in hysterics over Britney Spears?
As far as I can tell (and please correct me if you have updated information), there are now official YouTube bans in the UAE and Iran, with previous short-lived bans in Morocco, Thailand, Turkey and Brazil. The Defense Department has banned YouTube at its military facilities in Iraq (you know, claiming to fight for those unalienable rights while selectively denying them to U.S. citizens), although it's still available on public computers there. When will governments realize that technology has made it impossible to control the information people access? They're fighting a losing battle.
China Fun Fact: Three million people rode Line 5 during its first week of operation.
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