The Chinese authorities appear to have severely disrupted the WhatsApp messaging app in the latest step toward tighten censorship.
The Chinese authorities appear to have severely disrupted the WhatsApp messaging app in the latest step toward tighten censorship.
Photo: Youtube
Users in mainland China have reported widespread service disruptions in recent days to the Facebook-owned service, which had previously malfunctioned in the country over the summer.
WhatsApp News in internet Photo:Google
Text messaging, voice calls and video calls appeared to be working again on Tuesday, although voice messages and photos were not going through. WhatsApp provides message encryption technology, systems unlikely to please the Chinese authorities, which closely monitor and restrict cyberspace through their “Great Firewall”.
Photo: SCMP
China has tightened online policing this year, enacting new rules that require tech companies to store user data inside the country as well as restrictions on what is permissible content.
Websites such as Facebook, Twitter and a slew of foreign media have been blocked for years.
The WhatsApp troubles emerged ahead of the Communist Party congress starting on October 18.
Photo: fundchat.com
China usually steps up surveillance around major events. While the WeChat messaging app owned by China’s Tencent company is more widely used on the mainland, many WhatsApp users complained about the disruptions. Some noted it would make it difficult to work with clients abroad.
“Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, Viber were blocked before. Now even WhatsApp is blocked? Without good messaging tools, it will reduce the efficiency of the foreign trade industry,” wrote one person on Weibo, China’s equivalent of Twitter.
“I can live without the others [applications], but blocking WhatsApp is driving me crazy,” said another internet user. WhatsApp declined to comment.
