ARTICLES MODERN

By David F. Gallagher : A reader wrote in to say he had heard that Microsoft was not letting people choose usernames with the word “Tibet” in them when signing up for its online services. This turns out to be true, technically speaking. If you try to select such a name you get an error message:

This problem tripped up the Australian author of a book on Tibet, who declared the whole thing “a bit suss.” This blogger cries censorship.

Big American tech companies have given us plenty of reasons to be cynical about how far they will go to keep China’s leaders happy and keep their fingers in the Chinese market (see Fig. 1, Fig. 2). And China’s leaders would prefer that everyone just not mention those unruly Tibetans, especially with the Olympics on the way. But would the Chinese regime really feel threatened by the creation of, say, ILoveTibet@hotmail.com? And even if it did, would Microsoft really agree to help perpetuate that insecurity?

A Microsoft spokeswoman had a different explanation. The company blocks usernames that include the names of various financial institutions. This is meant to make life harder for those seeking to impersonate a bank using an official-looking e-mail address in order to steal customers’ passwords. In this case Microsoft is blocking usernames containing “tib,” apparently to protect customers of TIB Bank in Florida.

So Microsoft’s take is that ILoveTibet and all variations on that theme are just collateral damage in the war on phishing. But the ban on “tib” also rules out many other highly desirable usernames — BrokeMyTibia, AntiBlogging and NastiBoy23, for example. A wider check indicates that CitibankStinks and IHateWellsFargo are also off-limits. Let the rumors of a banking industry conspiracy begin.

Momeen reporting from David F. Gallagher : bits.blogs

China, hotmail, Internet, livemail, Microsoft, phishing, security, Technology, Tibet