China internet control

A brief opening on an audio conversation app allowed Chinese users to speak freely with the outside world.

Starting next week, China’s government will require bloggers to be approved to write on a wide range of topics, including economics, education, health, and foreign affairs.

The voice chat app’s brief moment in the sun revealed the stark difference in how Chinese and Taiwanese users experience the internet.

Thousands of Chinese had flocked to the app, which allowed unfettered discussion with people abroad about democracy, Taiwan, and other sensitive topics.

The events of the past year point to several censorship patterns that will likely gain prominence in the months to come.

What to make of new provincial cross-border data flow proposals.

Can the CCP co-opt the popularity of social media darlings like Li Ziqi without running their global appeal?

Arrests of North Korean defectors in China are up, even while Beijing moves to control North Korean propaganda within the Great Firewall.

June has been a terrible month for internet freedom in China. July may be even worse.

China’s “techno-dystopian expansionism” is undermining democracy in African countries.

In addition to technological tools, China’s government is using more old-fashioned methods to keep activists silent.