Late last week, the Associated Press reported that "dozens of blogs by some of China's most outspoken users" had been "abruptly" closed in China, notorious for its strict Internet controls. But less attention has been given to another blog blackout--this time in the US: As CNET reports, some 73,000 blogs hosted by WordPress blogging platform Blogetery.com, were shut down last week by BurstNet , Blogetery's web hosting company.
According to CNET "nobody seems willing to say why or who is responsible." What is known is that BurstNet informed Blogetery's operator, via email, that the its service had been terminated "by request of law enforcement officials, due to material hosted on the server."
"Please note that this was not a typical case, in which suspension and notification would be the norm. This was a critical matter brought to our attention by law enforcement officials. We had to immediately remove the server," BurstNet additionally told Blogetery (see quotes from the email exchange here).
A BurstNet representative told TorrentFreak that additional information on the shutdown of the blogs cannot be provided. “Simply put: We cannot give him his data nor can we provide any other details. By stating this, most would recognize that something serious is afoot,” the representative reportedly said.
Is this a copyright issue? TorrentFreak notes that Blogetery's owner does "admit to handling many copyright-related cease and desists in the past, albeit in a timely manner as the DMCA requires."
People on Twitter have voiced concerns over the shutdown of the blogs. One user, @Veribatim, tweeted, "I've been researching what happened. Either way tens of thousands of blogs who were not criminal were shut down. Not kosher." Another wrote, "70k+ blogs shut down for no reason, no appeal; and people want MORE gov. control of the internet? #fail"