Google has tracked down the source of recent Gmail access problems in China, and has decided the Chinese government"s to blame. Following poor service for the past few weeks, Google investigated the issues and found no cause for concern on their side, leading them to suspect the government.
According to the BBC, Google said it had traced the issues down to "a government blockage carefully designed to look like the problem is with Gmail", having ruled out any server side issues. A solution to the problem has yet to be released.
While the motivation for the block is unclear, users say that the block coincides with an internet campaign calling for a revolution similar to the ones occurring in the Middle East.
Tensions between Google and China have been mounting following recent events. Last year, the tech giant was subject to a number of cyber-attacks in mainland China, influencing it to abandon its government-approved Google.cn offering, instead redirecting users to the uncensored Google.com.hk. A ban on Google search sites was short-lived, being lifted after a day of enforcement.
Beijing has long denied any sort of cyber-attacks, calling the accusations "groundless". Nonetheless, Google believes it was victim to a series of attacks on its Gmail service last year as well, when Chinese rights activists were attacked by organisations intent on gaining access to their Gmail accounts.