Microsoft caught censoring the Internet for China—even in the U.S.

[Magda Hassan]

Microsoft's search engine Bing has extended the censorship of Chinese-language search results in other countries, according to a report from a Chinese censorship watchdog.
Searches for terms in Chinese using Bing are returning different results than searches in English, even when those searches originate in the United States, reports Great Fire, a blog that specializes in monitoring websites and keywords blocked by the People's Republic of China.
After comparing the search engine's results, Great Fire reported it was unable to locate specific information about topics the Chinese government considers controversial. These include the Dalai Lama, who fled from Central Tibet in 1959 following China's invasion, and the infamous 1989 Tiananmen square demonstrations, during which thousands of civilians may have been killed after a violent military clampdown.
Specifically, searches for "Dalai Lama" did not include his Wikipedia page or his official website. Instead, a documentary sponsored by the Chinese government appeared, along with a page from the nation's own meticulously censored version of Wikipedia, Baidu Baike. Results for Chinese human rights activist Liu Xiaobo were likewise unavailable.
For users in mainland China, Bing's website indicates when search results have been filtered. The altered results in the United States and elsewhere include no such notification.
"We are 100 percent sure our findings indicate that Microsoft is cleansing search results in the United States to remove negative news and information about China," Great Fire said in a statement. "And they are doing this in every market in which they operate in the world."
Microsoft later responded to the accusations in a press release, stating the censored results were due to an error in their system, which accidentally triggered a notification to remove the results. "Bing aims to provide a robust set of high-quality, relevant search results to our users. In doing so, Bing has extremely high standards that respect human rights, privacy and freedom of expression," the company added.
Microsoft's press release did not reveal what steps would be taken to correct the issue. They did, however, comment on another issue: Bing searches also censored links to Great Fire's tool to sidestep China's censorship. The company admitted that was a mistake.
"After review, we have determined the page is acceptable for inclusion in global search results," the statement said.
H/T Agence France-Presse
http://www.dailydot.com/news/microsoft-b...hip-china/

[David Guyatt]

Microsoft claim the Bing results were "an error in our system".

Nothing to see here folks, move along...

On the other hand, based on the ingrained experience of an unadulterated cynic (me) we have this:

Microsoft eyes enterprise market with new services center in China

Michael Kan

• May 30, 2013 7:10 AM
  
• print
  

Microsoft is expanding its enterprise services in China with a new Global Service Delivery Center in the country, the second of its kind in the world, the company said Wednesday.
The company is building the center in Chongqing, where it signed an agreement with the municipal government, Microsoft said in a statement.
Microsoft announced the center after it said last September that it would raise its investment in the country, including hiring an additional 1,000 employees in China over the next fiscal year. Microsoft's goal is to expand to 15 provinces and 20 cities in China as a way to bring more cloud computing services to its customers. The country has 22 provinces, not including Taiwan, which it also claims, and five autonomous regions.
The company's Chongqing facility will offer consulting, application and development services. It will have 500 employees within the next three years and bring in sales of $200 million, according to an online statement from Chongqing's government.
In the enterprise space, Microsoft said last November that it would launch its Windows Azure and Office 365 products in the country. Local Windows Azure services operated from a Shanghai data center will be available for sign up in China on June 6.
Microsoft has previously said demand for enterprise products in China is growing, with local governments and companies wanting to increase productivity. About 40 percent of enterprise users in China are using some kind of Microsoft private cloud-related software, the company estimates.
The delivery center is also expected to help drive growth in Chongqing's outsourcing industry. The cooperation agreement will attract five to 10 Microsoft partners, according to the city's municipal government. This will bring in 1,000 additional employees and $500 million in revenue from outsourcing services.
Microsoft's other global delivery center is Hyderabad, India.

Obviously, Microsoft wouldn't dream of creating an error in their system if the Chinese required it to sanction a new Global Service Delivery Centre in Chongqing. Heaven forbid anyone should think this. Obviously.