BEIJING: WhatsApp has begun working freely and consistently for some users across China despite a longstanding government ban on the messaging service, an unusual development in a country with some of the world’s strictest internet restrictions.
Users located in Beijing and Shanghai, who typically rely on workarounds like virtual private networks (VPNs) to access the service, have reported sending and receiving messages without the need for such tools. However, other popular social media platforms like Signal and Instagram remain inaccessible, as part of a broader blockade of foreign internet platforms commonly referred to as the Great Firewall.
The extent of WhatsApp’s accessibility across China during this period remains unclear, and the phenomenon has yet to gain traction on domestic social media platforms like Weibo. It’s estimated that only a fraction of China’s population utilizes WhatsApp, with the dominant messaging app being Tencent Holdings’ WeChat, which boasts over a billion users.
Representatives for WhatsApp have declined to comment on the matter, and queries sent to the Cyberspace Administration of China have gone unanswered.
For years, Beijing has prohibited the use of foreign messaging and social media platforms like WhatsApp as part of efforts to suppress potential dissent and uphold the Communist Party’s control over online content.
Messages exchanged on WhatsApp, like those on many foreign platforms, are encrypted on both ends, making them challenging to monitor or regulate. However, occasional reports from users in China suggest sporadic access to blocked services and websites, attributed by industry experts to glitches in network restrictions.
Yet, some residents in China’s largest cities have reported uninterrupted access to WhatsApp for an unusually extended period of two weeks. Interestingly, this span coincides with Apple’s removal of WhatsApp and other social media apps, including Threads and Signal, from its Chinese app store. This action was taken in response to directives from Beijing to close loopholes in the internet firewall.
