Microsoft censors Chinese blogger

Microsoft has admitted removing the blog of an outspoken Chinese journalist from its MSN Spaces site, citing its policy of adhering to local national laws.

The blog written by Zhao Jing, also known as Michael Anti, was removed from MSN servers on New Year's Eve, according to investigative journalist and former CNN reporter Rebecca Mackinnon. She claimed the blog was actively removed by MSN staff rather than being blocked by Chinese authorities.

A Microsoft spokesperson told ZDNet UK on Wednesday that the MSN Space located at http://spaces.msn.com/members/mranti/ was blocked to help ensure the service complied with local laws in China.

"MSN is committed to ensuring that products and services comply with global and local laws, norms, and industry practices. Most countries have laws and practices that require companies providing online services to make the Internet safe for local users. Occasionally, as in China, local laws and practices require consideration of unique elements," the spokesperson said.

Questions still remain over why a site believed to be hosted in the US has to comply with Chinese law. Microsoft responded to requests for more information on this issue by claiming that "Microsoft is a multi-national business and as such need to manage the reality of operating in countries around the world".

Responding to Mackinnon's report, Microsoft's own in-house blogger, Robert Scoble, said that he was "depressed" by the news and offered Anti the opportunity to blog via his site.

"Guys over at MSN: sorry, I don't agree with your being used as a state-run thug," he said. "It's one thing to pull a list of words out of a blog using an algorithm. It's another thing to become an agent of a government and censor an entire blogger's work," wrote Scoble.

Scoble comments referred to reports in June last year when Microsoft admitted to censoring words such as 'freedom' and 'democracy' from its Chinese MSN portal. In an email sent to ZDNet UK sister site silicon.com, Microsoft said: "We don't disclose the list but we do have the ability to change and update the filter as needed to help ensure we abide by the laws, regulations and norms of China."

Scoble's latest blog entry on the issue, made shortly before his departure to the Consumer Electronics Show which begins on Thursday, states that he has had problems tracking down the relevant parties in Microsoft to comment on the issue and that some individuals have criticised him for commenting on the issue without checking further.

"I have been talking to lots of people today, though, inside and outside of Microsoft. In every instance they asked me to keep those conversations confidential. Why? Cause we're talking about international relations here and the lives of employees," Scoble wrote.

In September last year, Yahoo was heavily criticised when it emerged that the portal company had provided information to Chinese authorities that led to the imprisonment of a Chinese journalist.