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Opera Closes China Loophole; Reinstates Censorship
ObsessiveMathsFreak writes "Coming hot on the heels of Microsoft's censoring of Chinese search results, browser-maker Opera has become the latest company to joyfully contribute to prosperous growth of the Great Firewall of China. For speed and convenience, the mobile phone-based 'Opera Mini' browser receives formatted web pages via Opera's own line of proxy servers. These unfiltered proxies gave Opera's Chinese users rare unfettered access to the wider web. However, this loophole has now been closed, with Chinese users now being directed to 'upgrade' to 'Opera Mini China,' which closes this loophole, returning them to the bosom of party censorship, and Opera to the favor of the Chinese Government. Truly; 'To Get Rich Is Glorious.'"
In practice, Opera likely had little choice but to comply with local laws, and make a new version for Chinese users that cannot access all the "filtered" sites, same as any other Web browser.
They had no choice. So, the Chinese government would prevent them from doing business in China which is giving it away for free? I've never seen Opera specific advertising when I use Opera. So, I don't get it. Exactly what would Opera lose if they weren't in China?
It's NOT me! It's the meds! I'm on 1000mg of Fukitol.
I can imagine that there's citizens of China that have unfettered access to the internet; there are plenty of companies out there that host software VPN's that allow a user to appear to be from a different country. The information is out there, you just have to know how to get it, although there is some risk. Hell, a business could probably make a good amount of money hosting terminal or Citrix servers just for FireFox usage for China users.
I'm sure there's a fairly large risk involved, and the punishments are probably severe. But where there's a will, there's a way, especially in technology.
Can other people use their proxy to see what they can't see? I'd really like to see, first hand, what it's like to browse through their proxy. I just wonder what sites I visit normally that aren't available.
Dedicated Cthulhu Cultist since 4523 BC.
Basically, it is not possible. There is private/public key encryption built in, that is why browser (shell in fact) asks you to press random keys or "move mouse" (in touchscreen) when first installed.
If you want to set up a conspiracy theory, don't look anywhere other than some popular search engines who bowed to China.
Businesses can only go so far to fight political battles. If they go too far, they end up out of business. Clearly, Opera knew about how their proxy servers were a loophole for the Great Wall of China. However, when the Chinese Government comes knocking, you don't have much choice. If Opera had chosen to fight the Chinese Government, they Chinese Government would have simply dictated another browser be used -- and one would have. Opera would have permanently lost that market share and the Chinese people would be in exactly the same position. Additionally, it would have supported another browser company -- who would have new inroads into the American and other markets with the phone manufacturers.
Personally, I'd love it if every American company had a portion of their website devoted to Tienamann Square and other issues that could be installed from a standard tar ball but that clearly won't happen. In the end, companies can only fight government so far -- they don't even stand up for themselves anymore in the U.S. unless they are enormous and have lots of clout. (Just look at how the current administration demonizes business owners and targets them with new taxes and regulations -- and while rightly business owners should be marching in the streets, they aren't.)
I'm torn on this. We want freedom. Does that mean we let the companies have freedom to do business with China and follow their rules? Or, should we demand that companies from the "free world" not contribute to the human rights problems of China, and others?
Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong fix.
Opera Mini works by connecting to proxy servers that filter Web content so that it displays properly on a cell phone's tiny screen. All Opera Software would have to do is run a separate set of proxies for "Opera Mini China" and then actively refuse connections on their main proxies originating from Chinese IP address blocks. (Or, more likely, the Great Firewall will block them.)
The China version of Opera Mini was already using a transcoding server located in China. But people could install the international version if they wanted. What has changed now, is that usage from inside China of the international transcoding server is not supported anymore. It would indeed be trivially easy for the GFW to block this server in Oslo. But that didn't happen, instead the Chinese users now get a page asking them to use the the China Opera Mini version.
If you don't like having choices made for you, you should start making your own. - Neal Stephenson
Huh!?
There are indeed reasons to boycott many American corporations and the USA has indeed committed crimes against other nations, but despite their best efforts they're not a remorseless genocidal colonizer with authoritarian regime with total Orwellian propaganda control over peoples lacking any safeguards of rule of law or freedoms of association or speech.
That's the "People's republic" of China.
Now kindly put that moral relativist gripe of yours about "restricting some content on the web" at the behest of that regime in some kind of perspective.
Fact: the longer the Chinese population is only fed CCP propaganda and denied access to the information the CCP wants to deny them, the longer the horror show behind the facade continues. Is that what you want to be advocating here?
Should invading one's peaceful neighbours be opposed, or rewarded with trade deals?