Blogger is making a move very similar to Twitter, allowing for the removal of content on a country-by country basis, to be able to conform to law requirements in certain places but still offer as much content as possible to as many people as possible.
The move comes too fast after Twitter's for it to have served as an inspiration, but it does underline a growing trend.
Blogger has chosen an interesting way of making sure that blogs or posts are blocked only where they're required, it will start redirecting everyone to country-specific URLs.
Google already does this for its search engine, users are redirected to a local version of the site depending on their location. It will start doing the same for blogs hosted on Blogger as well.
"Over the coming weeks you might notice that the URL of a blog you're reading has been redirected to a country-code top level domain, or 'ccTLD.' For example, if you're in Australia and viewing [blogname].blogspot.com, you might be redirected [blogname].blogspot.com.au," Blogger
explained.
Google says the reason for this is to be able to comply with local laws while also making sure that blogs remain available where they are legal. However, it could have done the same without having to use ccTLDs, like Twitter does.
"Migrating to localized domains will allow us to continue promoting free expression and responsible publishing while providing greater flexibility in complying with valid removal requests pursuant to local law," Blogger explained.
"By utilizing ccTLDs, content removals can be managed on a per country basis, which will limit their impact to the smallest number of readers," it said.
One explanation would be that some requests might not be to simply block content but to remove it. With ccTLDs, Blogger can remove stuff from only one domain and leave it there for everyone else. It may be a question of semantics, but it will ensure that Blogger stays legal.
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