State media are blaming Google for the effective shutdown of its email service in mainland China after access via third-party mail applications became inaccessible in recent days, The Guardian reported. Third party apps have served as the primary means of using Gmail for many in China after earlier Internet filtering efforts made direct access practically impossible. The Global Times also suggested the problems could be “caused by the China side, by Google itself or a combination of the two,” and that users should “accept the reality” if Gmail had been blocked. A Google spokesperson on Monday said that an internal check had found “nothing wrong on our end”.