Chinese authorities appear to have severely disrupted the WhatsApp messaging app in the latest step to tighten censorship as they prepare for a major Communist Party congress next month.
\nUsers in China have reported widespread disruptions in recent days to the Facebook-owned service, which previously malfunctioned in the country over the summer.
\nExperts said the problems began on Sunday, but text messaging, voice calls and video calls appeared to be working again yesterday, though voice messages and photos were not going through.
\nWhatsApp provides message encryption technology that likely does not please Chinese authorities, who closely monitor and restrict cyberspace through their \u201cGreat Firewall\u201d.
\nMany Chinese activists favour WhatsApp over local messaging apps because of its end-to-end encryption function.
\nChina has tightened online policing this year, enacting new rules that require tech companies to store user data inside the country as well as imposing restrictions on what is permissible
\nChinese cyberspace regulators said on Monday they slapped \u201cmaximum\u201d fines on major Chinese tech firms Baidu and Tencent for allowing the publication of pornographic, violent and other sorts of banned material on their social media platforms. The amount of the fines was not disclosed.
\nFacebook, Twitter, Pinterest and a slew of foreign media sites have been blocked for years.
\nThe WhatsApp troubles emerged ahead of the Communist Party congress on Oct 18, when President Xi Jinping is expected to be given a second five-year term as the party\u2019s general secretary.
\n\u201cIt smells like Party congress pre-emptive blocking,\u201d said Mr Jason Ng, who researches China\u2019s Internet at the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto.
\nChina usually steps up surveillance around major events, Mr Ng said.
\nWhile the WeChat messaging app owned by China\u2019s Tencent company is more widely used in the country, many WhatsApp users complained about the disruptions.
\n\u201cAs we get closer to the Party congress, I think authorities will use more extreme censorship measures. The public knows that WeChat isn\u2019t safe,\u201d prominent Beijing-based activist Hu Jia told AFP.\u2013 AFP (tnp)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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