Web browsers hopping the Great Firewall in China suggest a new era of opening up and a new means of control
- China allows some web browsers to offer access to blocked websites like YouTube and Facebook while still censoring what users see
- Browsers Tuber and Kuniao were both pulled from app stores following a surge in popularity
Web browsers that let netizens in China jump the Great Firewall have become more common over the last year. Their appearance seems to offer a glimpse at what could be a new form of internet censorship in China.
Some of these browsers, which let users circumvent the government’s strict online censorship, manage to stick around for a while. But the quick withdrawal of others has led to questions about whether these browsers are really sanctioned by authorities as some companies say.
Like other similar apps, Tuber said it offered legal access to sites that are normally blocked in China like YouTube and Facebook. But the day after news of the app went viral, it was gone from Chinese app stores.
While Tuber was short-lived, this does not mean it was illegal. There are several similar browsers, sometimes called “cross-border browsers”, from companies that say they are operating legally. And for some apps, the similarities may not be an accident.
