Chinese WhatsApp users faced troubles using the popular messaging platform on Tuesday. It is believed that WhatsApp is the latest victim of Beijing’s internet clampdown. WhatsApp, owned by Facebook, is one of the few foreign messaging applications which are active in China. However, it is not as popular as WeChatbut is mostly used because of the end-to-end encryption.
WeChat, the most used messaging platform in China, is found to be censoring content that is critical of the Communist Party. China has in the past put a ban on platforms like Twitter, YouTube, and many foreign news sites.
The latest clampdown on WhatsApp is believed to be part of Bejing’s campaign to clean the internet. It has seen VPN servers being shut down, video content getting restricted, and the celebrity gossip account closed. It is reported that users were not able to access WhatsApp without a VPN. In a report published in the South China Morning Post, two users with Chinese numbers were not able to send pictures or videos using WhatsApp.
One of the users tried to send a photo to overseas users but failed to do so. When a person from overseas sends that user a photo, he receives it but is not able to load the photo. It should be noted that there is no problem with sending text messages.
Facebook and WhatsApp have not yet commented on the report. Facebook as well Instagram are already blocked in China. Other Foreign messaging applications which are blocked in China include Line and Telegram.