Reports have been coming in that people trying to reach Google, Yahoo and Microsoft from within China or via Chinese ISPs are being redirected to Baidu.
Some have accused Baidu of hijacking the traffic, but we think it's likely that China is upset with the US over the award it granted to the Dalai Lama and is retaliating by hurting US-based search engines.
Back in 2002, when China was upset with Google, it similarly redirected traffic.
It will be interesting to see if there is an impact on our side, or a backlash on theirs. Google's stock has been sailing through the roof lately, I wonder if this even dents it.
As of 3:40pm EST, up 1% to 640.03. Worth watching.
If someone took away my Google, I'd be pissed. This isn't new though, background here and more here. For those wondering wtf, this is what 21st century cyber warfare between national powers looks like in its infancy, this is a public version, but it takes many forms.
Duncan Riley has a suggestion.
The Chinese Government is clearly using its censorship regime to the economic
benefit of a Chinese owned (but NASDAQ listed) company. Although the United
States Government is a poor WTO member (Antigua anyone) given that China is a
recent member the US Government should lodge a complaint with the WTO. China
expects free and open access to Western nations but is now not only blocking,
but also redirecting domestic traffic away from Western internet sites
that compete with local firms.
Update 1: I just went through a series of tests as of 4:07pm EST with some clients in China, and there may be some holes in China's firewall. It does not appear to effect every ISP, and may be limited to China Online (COL http://www.col.com.cn/). This will be interesting to watch as the details come out.
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