More Flickr Follies: Censors Keep Chinese Bloggers In Check

On second thought, maybe all is not so pink and rosy in Flickrland after all. Or at least not in certain countries where the freedom to look at tits on the internet isn't so universal. Friend o' Fleshbot Xeni Jardin has the latest on Hong Kong blogger Oiwan Lam, who is facing the possibility of a $HK 400,000 fine and a year in jail simply for linking to a topless lady (pictured) on the photo sharing site. The big issue—aside from China's dismal human rights policies—is that Flickr's efforts to corral potentially offensive material may have actually made it easier for officials to target and prosecute Lam. Since parent company Yahoo! is already in hot water for helping put a Chinese journalist behind bars, an American company helping another government oppress its people can't be good for business ... or the people, for that matter. Stay tuned to see how this develops, but it looks like censorship and its "unintended consequences" aren't going to stop causing trouble anytime soon.

· "blogger faces 12 months or $HK400K for linking" + "the Flickr'd photo that got blogger Oiwan in trouble" (Boing Boing)
· Photo by Jacob Applebaum (flickr.com)