The government of mainland China has taken steps to implement a wide ban against WhatsApp. The block has prevented people from sending and receiving text messages along with sharing photos and videos. The messaging app uses the internet to make voice and video calls, text messages, images and video sharing using standard mobile cellular numbers. All data being shared is encrypted from end-to-end.
The ban is not new for the WhatsApp as it has been banned before. Insiders are not sure as to how long the current ban will last for the messaging app.
According to a report from The New York Times, the services of WhatsApp have been disrupted on a wide scale level in China. TechCrunch has also compiled reports of many users losing their access starting a couple of nights ago, while other parts of mainland China are still able to use WhatsApp with no apparent problems.
Representatives for the app have not given any statement regarding the ban.
Insiders are looking into the possibility that the ban on the app may be in preparation for an event by the Communist Party of China to be held next month. WhatsApp may have been singled out because the app uses a strong encryption feature that is missing in several similar apps such as Skype and FaceTime that have been allowed by the government.
The encrypted messaging feature of WhatsApp is feared to be used by political dissidents to go against the government.
If and when the ban is lifted, this could be a message from the Chinese government against dissidents trying to look for a reliable app that has an encrypted messaging. This could also potentially disrupt businesses that rely on WhatsApp's services in interacting with their consumers.
WhatsApp Inc., which is based in Mountain View, California, was bought by Facebook in February 2014 for almost $20 billion. Two years after the acquisition, its user base went over one billion making WhatsApp the most popular application in 2016.
