China blocked’Insa’ app clubhouse… ‘Because of political criticism’

Voice-based social media’Club House’ and Sung Hongki Oh in China. Reuters = Yonhap News

Recently,’Club House’, a smartphone chat application (app) that has attracted explosive interest in Korea, has been blocked in China. As the number of users who have critical discussions on Chinese politics within the service increases, it is analyzed that the Chinese government has taken action.

On the 8th (local time), Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that “Mainland (China) users will not be able to access the Clubhouse server from Monday evening.” The media reported that this happened amid a rapid increase in chat rooms dealing with Chinese-sensitive topics such as Hong Kong protests and Xinjiang Uyghur human rights issues within the clubhouse.

CNN also reported on the news of China’s banning clubhouses on this day, and said, “China’s’Greatfire’ has also confirmed the blocking of clubhouses. Great Fire is an international private organization that monitors China’s Internet censorship.

According to SCMP, when Chinese users access the app, a message saying “An error occurred and a secure connection to the server could not be established” is displayed on the first screen. On social media in China, there are complaints that the app can only be used by bypassing the virtual private network (VPN), SCMP said.

A chat room was opened in the’Club House’ application to talk about the Chinese government’s service blocking. [클럽하우스 캡처]

In China, the clubhouse has rapidly emerged as a voice chat platform for discussions on topics sensitive to the Chinese government, such as human rights and politics. For this reason, many observers say that it is only a matter of time before the Chinese government blocks clubhouses. On the 7th, just a day ago, SCMP said, “The clubhouse is testing the patience of the Chinese authorities,” referring to the fact that the Xinjiang Uyghur human rights issue is being dealt with in the clubhouse. Shortly after such predictions came out, measures were taken to block access.

Currently, a number of chat rooms have been opened in the clubhouse to discuss the Chinese government’s service blocking. More than 1,500 people participated in a chat room opened by English-speaking users to discuss the Chinese government’s action.

Clubhouse is a voice-based social media that appeared in March last year. Users can chat only with voice, not text or video. On the 1st, Musk’s CEO participated in a discussion on the soaring stock price of’GameStop’ at the clubhouse, attracting the attention of social media users around the world. In Korea, politicians such as Jang Hye-young, Justice Party lawmaker, and entertainers and influencers such as singer Din Dean and Horan are increasing.

Reporter Oh Wonseok [email protected]