TAIPEI – Messaging application The signal has become unusable for many people in mainland China this week, stifling one of the latest widely used messaging applications that could send and receive encrypted messages in the country without a virtual private network.
The government’s apparent move to block Signal intensifies control over public and private discourse in China, where many social media and messaging applications, including Facebook,
Twitter and, most recently, the popular social-audio platform Clubhouse, have been banned.
Signal users in mainland China began reporting problems with sending and receiving messages in the app around Monday night. Using a virtual private network or VPN, a tool that allows Internet users to bypass China’s elaborate web filter system, has solved these problems, leading users to conclude that the application has been blocked in China.
Some also reported problems with registration, another common censorship practice that affected Clubhouse last month, in which users could not sign up with their phone numbers because the verification text code is never received.
The problems started on Sunday and included stopping registration and network blockages, said a person familiar with the problem. The Chinese Cyberspace Administration, the country’s Internet regulator, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On Tuesday, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs asked the relevant department a question about the apparent ban, but said China’s Internet is open and the government manages the Internet in accordance with the law.
Signal uses end-to-end encryption, which prevents third parties from accessing communications between sender and receiver. It includes features such as messages and media that are disappearing and has been promoted as a secure and private communication tool. Similar encrypted messaging applications, such as WhatsApp Telegram and Facebook Inc., are also inaccessible in China without a VPN.
The signal rose in popularity last year among Chinese users after the US administration said it would ban WeChat,
The most popular messaging application in China, operated by Tencent Holdings Ltd. Downloads also jumped in Hong Kong after lawmakers passed national security legislation, suppressing pro-democracy protests.
WeChat uses client-to-server encryption, which gives Tencent full access to data between senders and recipients. The application is ubiquitous in China and is largely a necessity for everyday life through its messaging and payment services. He is also known for his censorship of sensitive issues, such as political criticism or the outbreak of the coronavirus in Wuhan.
In February, Chinese censors blocked Clubhouse after the app began to gain traction in the country and led to discussions on sensitive, generally restricted topics in China, such as the treatment of Uighur Muslims in China or protests in Tiananmen Square.
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“It has always been a surprise that Signal has lasted so long, given that the purpose of the application is to facilitate encrypted communications.”
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As in the case of Clubhouse, some saw the loss of Signal as inevitable due to China’s expansive censorship apparatus and tightening controls on its Internet users.
“It has always been a surprise that Signal has lasted so long, given that the purpose of the application is to facilitate encrypted communications,” said James Griffiths, author of The Great Firewall of China: How to Build and Control an Alternative. Version ”of the Internet. ”
Yaqiu Wang, a Chinese researcher for Human Rights Watch in New York, said Signal is the latest encrypted messaging app that he could easily use to securely connect with friends and activists in mainland China.
Although Signal can still work with a VPN, they have become more difficult to access in China in recent years after China tightened rules on the instrument. At least hundreds of VPNs have been removed from app stores, while VPN users and providers have faced fines.
“All of these are indications that it will be increasingly difficult for people to talk to people safely about sensitive issues,” Ms. Wang said. “I’m really worried about communicating for the people of China.”
Although there was no clear catalyst for the apparent ban, some experts speculated that Signal’s recent popularity among mainland users may have contributed.
According to research firm Sensor Tower, downloads of Signal on iOS, Apple’s operating system, have gained momentum in China in the past year, before dropping in February and March. The signal installations reached a monthly maximum in August of 52,000, after the US WeChat ban was announced and increased again in January, with approximately 49,000 installations.
However, signal users in China are a fraction of those on WhatsApp or Telegram, according to Sensor Tower data. Signal downloads on iOS reached a total of about 510,000 in China, compared to 9.6 million WhatsApp installations and three million Telegram installations.
The signal was also blocked in Iran in January. The company said it has launched a solution for the network block and is exploring several ways to circumvent the ban.
Write to Stephanie Yang at [email protected]
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