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.03 Sep 2002
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.