China: Government blocks WhatsApp July 18

Event

On Tuesday, July 18, the popular messaging application WhatsApp was partially blocked by the Chinese government, preventing some users from sending videos, photos, and text messages. Analysts are estimating that future disruptions, as well a complete ban, are likely for WhatsApp due to its end-to-end encryption making it difficult for third-parties to access messages between users.

Context

WhatsApp has around 2 million users in China and is the last of Facebook's primary products operating in China.

The Chinese government reportedly ordered state-run telecommunications firms - including China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom - to prevent individuals from accessing virtual private networks (VPNs) by February 1, 2018. While it is still not clear how the order will affect multinational firms that have operations in China, unnamed sources providing information to media outlets claimed that such companies will be able to lease access to the international web in return for providing usage records.

China’s "Great Firewall" is the most effective censorship system in the world and is used to block websites such as Facebook and Twitter.

Advice

Individuals are advised to not rely on WhatsApp for communication purposes due to the possibility of further blockages.