Google now redirects visitors to Blogger blogs - traditionally hosted blogspot.com to blogspot.in domains, reports Techdows. This means that those visiting blogs from India will be redirected to .in equivalent domains. Note that this isn't just applicable to blogs by Indian users, but any blog hosted on blogspot. For example, if you visit Greg Mankiw's blog, instead of being taken to http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/, you'll be redirected to http://gregmankiw.blogspot.in/. The redirection is on the basis of the users IP address, and there are no other visible changes. There are two key things to consider here: 1. Freedom of speech: Clearly, this is being done to enable censorship of content on blogspot.com. Google's FAQs state the following - Migrating to localized domains will allow us to continue promoting free expression and responsible publishing while providing greater flexibility in complying with valid removal requests pursuant to local law. By utilizing ccTLDs, content removals can be managed on a per country basis, which will limit their impact to the smallest number of readers. Content removed due to a specific country’s law will only be removed from the relevant ccTLD. This goes back to changes that Twitter made recently, giving itself the ability to censor content in specific countries, in compliance with local laws. Google appears doing the same with Blogspot. Note that this doesn't mean that Google will definitely censor everything that it is asked to by the country - it can well refuse to do so - but it is giving itself the ability to. However,…
