China Herald: Facebook faces more than censors in China

Sam Flemming

Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, has gone to great lenght to appease China´s leadership in an effort to enter the largest internet market again. But, says Sam Flemming, an internet veteran based in Shanghai to Reuters. Local competition might even be a tougher challenge, unlike in the US where Facebook broke new ground.

Reuters:

"The Chinese have been social for years, and Facebook would be just one more option among many," said Sam Flemming, founder of Shanghai-based social media consultancy, CIC.

"It certainly would have a certain amount of cache, especially among the more internationalized Chinese and foreigners living in China, but it would need a big push in awareness beyond this small group," Flemming said.

Foreigners and Chinese citizens who want to access Facebook and other blocked sites must use special VPN software to get around China's firewall to do so, meaning a very limited number of Chinese currently use it.

More at Reuters.

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