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China Blocks Apple's iTunes

by Tim Stevens on August 25, 2008 at 11:18 AM

China Blocks iTunesThe Olympics are over, which means all the discussion and controversy over China's filtering of the Internet are over too, right? Well, not quite. It's been discovered that China and its "great firewall" have decided to block access to the entirety of Apple's iTunes, likely over an album dedicated to freeing Tibet.

The album is a benefit for the Art of Peace Foundation, a non-profit founded by the Dalai Lama that contrasts against the classic Chinese text 'The Art of War.' It contains tracks by Dave Matthews, Regina Spektor, Suzanne Vega, Sting, and Alanis Morissette, and it's apparently become quite a favorite of many Olympians during the games. Executive director of the Art of Peace Foundation, Michael Wohl, said, "We issued a release saying that over 40 (Olympic) athletes downloaded the album in an act of solidarity, and that's what triggered it. Then everything got blocked."

Bummer for Chinese iPod owners, but given that Apple doesn't even officially support the country, we're guessing execs at Cupertino aren't too jilted. [Source: ZDNet Government]

Tags: 2008 olympics, 2008Olympics, apple, breaking news, BreakingNews, china, great firewall, GreatFirewall, ipod, itunes, songs for tibet, SongsForTibet, the art of peace, TheArtOfPeace

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