EU-Digest: Google Blogger customers experiencing constant FTP publishing problems

For the complete report from the EU-Digest special edition click on this link

EU-Digest:Google Blogger customers experiencing constant FTP publishing problems

For several years now EU-Digest has been one of the most widely read news blogs related to events impacting on Europe. To publish this electronic daily newsletter in Blog format EU-Digest has used Google Blogger File Transfer Protocol (FTP) on the Internet via its Europe House provider Globat. This publishing technology has not always been flawless, but acceptable. Unfortunately it has become steadily worse. Interruption of services lasting for over a week have become common practice, with limited recourse in the area of customer support.

Sharing information digitally, often in the form of documents, media files or data files, is critical in today's world. It relies on collaborative teams in the public and private sector to efficiently share information, so that the customer can eventually benefit. When this flow of information becomes one-sided or is broken, it constitutes a breach of article ten of the European Court of Human Rights. This article warrants the freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas. In the case of Google there seems to be a common feeling among customers that there is either incompetency in the technical support area, or not enough customer support staff. We dare not think that what might look like technical troubles, could in fact be indirect censorship from sources "higher up". In this case on the content of some of the copy published by blogs considered "unfriendly' to the Establishment.

For Google, censorship might not be of too great of a concern to its management. In China, Google recently said it will censor its search services there in order to gain greater access to China's fast-growing market. The company has set up a new site - Google.cn - in China, which it says will censor itself to satisfy the authorities in Beijing. Google has, however, resisted efforts by the US Department of Justice to make it disclose data on what people are searching for. To enable our readers to stay connected to EU-Digest during what have become frequent interruptions of Google blogger services, please go to EU-Digest - special edition

or click on this link