As of Monday night, many Clubhouse users in mainland China reported that the app had been censored. When they tried to log in to the application, they received an error message in red showing “a secure connection to the server cannot be made.”
At the Clubhouse, several chat rooms soon emerged to discuss blocking the app. They joined hundreds of users, including some who said they were based in mainland China. Greatfire.org, a group that monitors internet censorship in China, also confirmed that the app was blocked.
The Clubhouse ban is no surprise. With political discussions attracting so much interest from mainland China, many users and observers hoped it would only be a matter of time before the app was blocked. While censorship can prevent new users, it is unclear how many existing users will be kept off the platform.
Susan Liang, 31, from Shenzhen, said she would continue to participate in Clubhouse chats on sensitive topics via VPN because she did not want to give up on frank and open discussions.
“It is a very rare opportunity. Everyone lived under the Great Firewall for a long time, but on this platform, we can talk about anything, ”she told CNN Business. “It’s as if someone drowns and can finally take a big breath of air.”
But Liang hopes that some other users will be discouraged by having to use a VPN, as this technology has been increasingly targeted by the Chinese government. Any VPN not approved by the government is illegal.
Benjamin Ismail, an Apple Censorship expert – a project managed by GreatFire.org – said that some users would be discouraged by the block, but “he may not immediately eliminate the application” in China.
Popular political chat rooms
Although the app first became popular in China among tech industry circles, its political chat rooms quickly attracted newcomers eager to get rid of internal censorship. As popularity grew, many Chinese also came together to discuss topics such as culture, lifestyle and celebrity gossip. But the space for free and inclusive political discussions was one of the app’s rarest qualities for Chinese-speaking communities.
A chat room by Taiwanese blogger Zola has been running non-stop for nearly 120 hours, accompanied by Chinese speakers in different time zones.
Another popular chat room invited young people from both sides of the Taiwan Strait to share their personal opinions and stories. Discussions started on light topics, but soon turned to politics, with users comparing the political systems of China and Taiwan and debating prospects for unification.
Other users and external observers expressed skepticism about how representative the groups involved in these political discussions are of Chinese public opinion, pointing to the self-selective nature of the participants, as well as the barriers to the use of the Clubhouse itself that prevent it from being a completely public application.
“Political topics on the platform are not discussed as rationally as other topics like technology or culture,” said the newspaper.