Reuters reports that authorities in Beijing have blocked access
by internet users in China to Google. The search engine had become
popular in China because it can process pages written in Chinese.
Meanwhile, Mercury News reports that authorities in Vietnam are
cracking down on the country’s 4,000 internet cafés.
According to Reuters, Google is being blocked because it can
produce links to pornography and information deemed harmful to
national security. China has long taken a strict-censorship
approach to the internet, but in May it lifted its blocking of some
Western news agencies.
In Vietnam, the government owns all TV stations and newspapers.
According to Mercury News, it has sent investigators to 61 cities
and provinces in the country to control internet cafés that allow
access to web sites deemed by authorities to be unsuitable. In
developing countries, most individuals cannot afford their own
computers so internet cafés are the most popular means of
access.
