China’s Great Firewall Blocks Gmail

China has finally muted Gmail, after fighting with Google’s web service for six months. Disruptions started in June this year, forcing Gmail users in China to access the email service through protocols.
Microsoft Outlook and Apple’s Mail portals have been the only way for Chinese users to utilize Gmail in the past six months, but on Friday all traffic to Gmail from China went silent, showing a complete shut-down.
It has not been confirmed if Google pulled Gmail out of China, or if the Chinese government decided to block the last bit of traffic. The China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said the Chinese government has not censored Gmail, and will continue to work with any foreign business.
Considering the Chinese government continues to deny the ‘Great Firewall’ between China and the rest of the world, it is no wonder the Foreign Ministry has not announced anything to do with Gmail.
Google has always had a conflicted relationship with the Chinese government, dropping the search engine in 2011. Google’s co-founder Sergey Brin is not a fan of the censorship, and is said to be a big part of why Google does not do business in China.

Still, some Google services remain in China, mostly those that cannot be censored by the Chinese government.
The Chinese government has been even more forceful against U.S. internet companies in the past year, making sure all laws are followed online, by companies inside and outside of Mainland China.
Even though Google shows no signs of working with the Chinese government, Facebook is trying to court the government to allow the social network back into the country. Facebook could potentially grab 800 million users in China, if it manages to return to the country.