China has fully blocked its people's access to Google's Gmail service. Starting last Friday, users couldn't login to their emails, even if they were using third-party apps to get through the "Great Firewall."
The Chinese government has banned Gmail from mainland China six months ago, but users were able to find a way to use the service through third-party apps. Google spokesman Taj Meadows confirmed to the Wall Street Journal that the traffic from the region has dropped by 86 percent while China's State Internet Information Office did not immediately respond to request for comments.
"We've checked and there's nothing wrong on our end," Google said in a statement.
China is quite notorious for blocking some websites in the region without providing any reason, but GreatFire.org has a possible explanation.
"I think the government is just trying to further eliminate Google's presence in China and even weaken its market overseas," said a member of GreatFire.org to Reuters.
"Imagine if Gmail users might not get through to Chinese clients. Many people outside China might be forced to switch away from Gmail."
Prior to this change, users are able to access their Gmail accounts through third party apps such Apple Mail and Microsoft Outlook. Businesses that have relied to these apps are now faced with a dilemma, as they will be forced to use VPN (virtual private network) software if they want to continue using Gmail to go through the "Great Firewall," according to the New York Times.
"They shouldn't have blocked Google or Gmail; it's against the spirit of the Internet," Yuan Shengang, the chief executive of Netentsec, a Beijing-based cyber security company, said in a telephone interview with the New York Times.
Google is now behind the Great Firewall, which China has been aiming to do for the past years. The conflict between the search giant and the Chinese government began when Chinese officials requested Google to censor its search results, which the Google executives rejected.
