WeChat Censoring Messages Even Outside China, Study Says
- Citizen Lab researcher say Chinese accounts always censored
- WeChat removed notification about blocking messages for users
WeChat Censors Chinese Accounts Abroad
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Users of the WeChat instant-messaging platform can have their content censored even if they leave China or switch to an overseas phone number, according to a research group.
WeChat accounts registered with a mainland China-based phone number have keywords filtered out or messages blocked anywhere in the world as long they keep the same user name, according to a study by the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab. Accounts created abroad, such as through carriers in Hong Kong or the U.S., don’t face the same restrictions, it said.