Using targeted online attacks, the Chinese government is preventing the use of Gmail, Google’s free e-mail service. Rather than censorship, the strategy involves a more astute approach to protect Beijing from direct blame.

Beijing (AsiaNews) – The tug-of-war between the Chinese government and Google continues. For the past year, the Internet giant has complained about disruptions to its services, which it blames on Beijing. For the past two weeks, Chinese users of Gmail (Google’s free e-mail service) have reported frequent problems with sending and searching e-mails or opening their address books.

A spokesman for Google told the Guardian this week, “Relating to Google, there is no [technical] issue on our side. We have checked extensively. This is a government blockage carefully designed to look like the problem is with Gmail” by exploiting a MHTML vulnerability.

Jiang Yu, a spokeswoman for China’s Foreign Ministry, rejected the claim. "This is an unacceptable accusation,” she said, “groundless”.

In fact, China has not blocked Gmail; it has simply made it ineffectual because it has become too slow and unreliable for sending and receiving mail.

Nevertheless, the move marks a worrying change in strategy. Beijing has now gone beyond filters and censorship against sites like YouTube and Facebook to include more sophisticated means to ensure that Chinese authorities are not blamed.

• china
• google
• gmail
• attacks
• internet