BEIJING : Microsoft is under the spotlight over its blocking of a prominent Chinese Internet blogger, in the latest case of a major Western technology firm helping Beijing curtail free speech. The MSN Spaces-hosted web log, or blog, belonging to Beijing-based media researcher Zhao Jing was closed down this week after he posted articles critical of a management purge at the Beijing News daily. “I posted three posts about the Beijing News and all posts and articles were deleted inside China,” Zhao, who uses the pen name Michael Anti, told the XFN-Asia news service this week. “MSN Spaces (has) now deleted all of my articles and I have no backup and I’m very angry.” Microsoft had already faced intense criticism when it was revealed last year that its Chinese blogging service restricted the entry of sensitive terms such as “demonstration”, “democratic movement” and “Taiwan independence”. The MSN Spaces operation, a Microsoft joint venture with state-owned Shanghai Alliance Entertainment, is the top blog hosting service in China. Microsoft this week defended its latest action, releasing a statement saying it was acting in line with global laws when it deleted the web blog. “In line […]