It is not the first time that the Chinese government has used such practices. In the past, China had already censored certain words or expressions on social networks that could damage the image of the government. A policy that repeats itself with the coronavirus.
According to a report by Citizen Lab, the WeChat messaging app and the YY video platform censor messages referring to the coronavirus. Critical messages to the Chinese government and the way it is managing the epidemic, but also messages that speak only, without criticism, of the coronavirus are censored as well as the references to Dr Li Wenliang, the doctor who shot first the alarm bell about the virus.
Censorship is said to have been in place since January
On WeChat, the largest social network in the country, the sender has the impression that his messages have been successfully transmitted, when in reality the recipient does not receive any of the suspicious messages, as shown in the screenshot below. below.
If the application does not belong to the Chinese government, one can easily imagine that it is forced to respect the regulations of the Chinese government. Local authorities have privileged access to what is happening on the web and on social networks.
Censorship has been in effect since January. The list of prohibited keywords would only increase since then. It is unclear whether censorship is limited to the Chinese version of the app or whether all users outside of China are affected by this policy.
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- Censorship
- epidemic
- Video surveillance
- coronavirus
- China
- Social media
- High-Tech