The massacre that occurred in Tiananmen Square in 1989 is and remains a thorn in the side of the Chinese government. Efforts are made to create a clean image, the approximately 2,600 dead don’t fit into the picture. And US companies also have to keep this clean.
Microsoft caused discussions at the beginning of June this year because it blocked photos of the famous “Tiananmen Tank Man” in its search engine Bing – also in the West. This is the iconic photo that shows an unknown man standing alone in Beijing in the way of one or more tanks.
The Redmond company spoke of a “human error” at the time, the image should not be blocked outside of China. It is no surprise that this photo and others from the series are not offered via Bing in the People’s Republic, because the state leadership of the country censors something like this and also forces all companies from the West to do so if they want to do business in China.
Another aspect of this censorship has now been spotted, which security researcher Kevin Beaumont discovered and reported by mspoweruser. Because anyone who mentions Tiananmen on his profile on the business network LinkedIn can expect that his profile will not be visible in China.
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Beaumont ironically writes on Twitter that this is an “Operations Security” notice: “OPSEC tip – if you don’t want to be phished about people in China on LinkedIn, add ‘Tiananmen Square’ to your interests, and your profile automatically becomes invisible in China after a few days. “
Microsoft also sends a warning about this, because, before the filtering out, users receive a warning that gives them the opportunity to delete content that is not allowed on their own initiative. Microsoft: “Your LinkedIn profile is an integral part of the way you present your professional self to the world. That is why we believe it is important to notify you that due to the presence of prohibited content in the Knowledge section and capabilities of your LinkedIn profile. Your profile and your public activities, such as your comments and items that you share with your network, will not be made visible in China. “
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