Microsoft says 'tank man' censorship due to human error
Microsoft Corp blamed “accidental human error” because of its Bing search engine briefly not showing image effects for the search term “tank man” on the anniversary of the bloody military crackdown in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on 1989.
Users in different elements of the world, including the U.S., stated Fri that no image effects were returned when they searched for the term “tank man.”
“Tank man” refers to the iconic image of a standoff between an unidentified civilian and a type of military tanks leaving Beijing’s Tiananmen Square after a brutal crackdown found on pro-democracy protesters. The image has turned into a symbol of defiance all over the world.
After being alerted by reporters, Microsoft said in a statement that the issue was “because of an accidental human error and has been resolved.” Hours later, photos of “tank man” photos were came back by the internet search engine.
The company did not elaborate on what the individual error was or how it had happened. Nor achieved it say just how much of its Bing production staff is China-based. The business's major research and development middle outside the United States is normally in China, and it submitted employment in January for a China-based senior software engineer to lead a crew that develops the technology powering Bing impression search.
Chinese authorities require search engines, websites and public media systems operating within the country to censor keywords and results deemed politically delicate or vital of the Chinese authorities.
References to the Tiananmen Square crackdown found in 1989 are blocked found in China, as are images relating to the event, such as “tank man.”
Microsoft’s Bing is among the few international se's that operate found in China, where it abides by regional censorship laws and competes with greater Chinese search engines such as for example Baidu and Sogou.
Bing includes a 2.5% markets share in China, relating to data site Statcounter.
Rival Google exited the Chinese marketplace in 2010 2010 after several years of operation, pursuing disputes above censorship and a major hacking assault that Google believes originated in China.
Source: japantoday.com
