China Completely Blocks WhatsApp

China has completely blocked the popular messaging platform WhatsApp in all its territories. Multiple security experts confirmed that even text messages along with images and video sharing are blocked in the country.

WhatsApp users in China were experiencing brief disruptions over the past few months as they were barred from sending or receiving images and videos. But, according to Nadim Kobeissi, an applied cryptographer at Symbolic Software in Paris, the Chinese Government has figured out how to block the app completely. The country’s efforts to block the social media site reportedly began last week and has already reached most people, although some might still be able to use the messaging platform.

WhatsApp was one of the only messaging platforms with strong encryption features which services like Skype and Apple’s FaceTime lacked. Notably, both Skype and FaceTime are allowed to operate in the country. Domestic messaging services like WeChat have also pledged to provide the Chinese Government the personal data of all of their 963 million active users.

According to various media reports, the ban could be in anticipation of the Communist Party’s 19th National Congress to be held in Beijing next month. But, according to Timothy Heath, senior international defense research analyst at the RAND Corporation, the government, to monitor internet communications, is trying to steer people to use technology that can be accessed and monitored. Therefore, China, known for having rigid internet censorship, might have upgraded their firewall to block WhatsApp’s end to end encryption. But, Kobeissi added, it must have taken the Chinese authorities awhile to figure out the NoiseSocket protocol that WhatsApp uses to send texts.

The ban, imposed on Monday, is a big step back for parent company Facebook, which has long been banned on the mainland. Other foreign social media broadcasting services such as Wikipedia, Instagram, Twitter and a number of Google services are also blocked in the country. The Chinese Government has also cracked down on Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and other tools that disguise internet traffic to circumvent censorship. 

Neither Facebook nor WhatsApp have issued an official statement regarding the ban. However, Josh Chin, a political reporter for the Wall Street Journal in Beijing tweeted that WhatsApp was working again, hinting the ban was only temporary.