August 26th, 2008
iTunes is back in China but Tibet album is not
Any lingering doubts that China was blocking iTunes over the Songs for Tibet album must be wiped away now. The Register reports that iTunes access is back in China, but not for the album released by the Art of Peace Foundation, which features Sting, John Mayer and Dave Matthews.
iTunes went down a day after the album’s release and a press release announcing that 40 Olympic athletes had agreed to download the music (for free) in an “act of solidarity.”
Even when iTunes becomes available, Songs for Tibet remains unvailable. The SF Chronicle reports:
An article on China.org.cn, a new Web site operated by the Chinese government’s Internet Information Center, said “Songs for Tibet” had “ignited strong indignation” among Chinese Web users. Some users said they would boycott Apple products, including the popular iPhone, which is so far unavailable in China, the article said.
As a lawyer and technology writer, Richard Koman brings a unique perspective to the blog's intersection of law, government and technology. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
