Internet censorship in China

The <a href="/facts/People%27s_Republic_of_China/lTjIXY5p">People's Republic of China</a> (PRC) <a href="/facts/Internet_censorship/938thaNE">censors</a> both the publishing and viewing of online material. Many controversial events are censored from news coverage, preventing many Chinese citizens from knowing about the actions of their government, and severely restricting <a href="/facts/Freedom_of_the_press/9RLTKfod">freedom of the press</a>. China's censorship includes the complete blockage of various websites, apps, and video games, inspiring the policy's nickname, the <a href="/facts/Great_Firewall/HeQNWc3u">Great Firewall of China</a>, which <a href="/facts/List_of_websites_blocked_in_mainland_China/en2BLVQN">blocks websites</a>. Methods used to block websites and pages include <a href="/facts/DNS_spoofing/k85Akwm4">DNS spoofing</a>, blocking access to <a href="/facts/IP_address/z9V22Sw9">IP addresses</a>, analyzing and filtering <a href="/facts/URL/pPD5g7Wq">URLs</a>, packet inspection, and resetting connections.
The government blocks <a href="/facts/Website/SAsjJnca">website</a> content and monitors <a href="/facts/Internet/Xw1rVvJU">Internet</a> access. As required by the government, major Internet platforms in China have established elaborate self-censorship mechanisms as well as <a href="/facts/Internet_real-name_system_in_China/cqGGWwxf">implementing a real-name system</a>. As of 2019, more than sixty online restrictions had been created by the <a href="/facts/Government_of_China/wGcnIR4s">Government of China</a> and implemented by provincial branches of state-owned <a href="/facts/Internet_service_provider/dUacAxef">ISPs</a>, <a href="/facts/Company/psBVz9jr">companies</a> and organizations. Some companies hire teams and invest in powerful <a href="/facts/Artificial_intelligence/lJGauQwX">artificial intelligence</a> algorithms to police and remove illegal online content. Despite restrictions, all websites except TikTok can still be accessible to Chinese users by using <a href="/facts/VPNs/HX1WUQ3E">VPNs</a>, which are currently heavily restricted but not banned due to them often being used for business purposes.
<a href="/facts/Amnesty_International/ouGBgSdS">Amnesty International</a> states that <a href="/facts/China/lTjIXY5p">China</a> has "the largest recorded number of imprisoned journalists and cyber-dissidents in the world" and <a href="/facts/Reporters_Without_Borders/K8rGeqI9">Reporters Without Borders</a> stated in 2010 and 2012 that "China is the world's biggest prison for <a href="/facts/Netizen/wa9e6op3">netizens</a>." Freedom House rated China "Not Free" in the <a href="/facts/Freedom_on_the_Net/dbwuHjzD">Freedom on the Net 2023</a> report.
Commonly alleged user offenses include communicating with organized groups abroad, signing controversial <a href="/facts/Online_petition/TUHvRkf3">online petitions</a>, and forcibly calling for government reform. The government has escalated its efforts to reduce coverage and commentary that is critical of the regime after a series of large <a href="/facts/Environmental_law/wgFnMNQ6">anti-pollution</a> and <a href="/facts/Anti-corruption/EyK8cjrh">anti-corruption</a> protests. Many of these protests were organized or publicized using <a href="/facts/Instant_messaging/8lwwDyjK">instant messaging</a> services, chat rooms, and text messages. China's <a href="/facts/Internet_police/lVLPeIp5">Internet police</a> force was reported by official state media to be 2 million strong in 2013.
Since 2022, several Chinese social platforms announced that they would display user locations based on internet protocol (IP) addresses. These platforms include <a href="/facts/Quora/sdrkWzr6">Quora</a>-like <a href="/facts/Zhihu/ykh5JWp7">Zhihu</a>, the domestic version of TikTok, <a href="/facts/TikTok/LC3FaCbX">Douyin</a>, and video streaming platform <a href="/facts/Bilibili/I8oW9aBn">Bilibili</a>. The platforms display the province for users located in China or the country or region if the IP address of the user is located overseas. Users cannot disable this feature.
China's <a href="/facts/Special_administrative_regions_of_China/PjIuCTrs">special administrative regions</a> of <a href="/facts/Hong_Kong/4nAf3mqQ">Hong Kong</a> and <a href="/facts/Macau/KEm5w6xH">Macau</a> are outside the Great Firewall. However, it was reported that the central government authorities have been closely monitoring Internet use in these regions (see <a href="/facts/Internet_censorship_in_Hong_Kong/voEm0mY2">Internet censorship in Hong Kong</a>).

Internet censorship in China open-in-new

Internet censorship in China