ENCRYPTED MESSAGING APP SIGNAL BLOCKED IN CHINA

Encrypted messaging app Signal appears to have been blocked in mainland China, the latest foreign social media service to cease working in a country where the government tightly controls the flow of information.

Users of the app within China had to connect to a virtual private network (VPN) that allows them to circumvent China’s so-called Great Firewall, a censorship system which blocks websites, services and apps deemed inappropriate by the Chinese government.

The move to silence Signal, one of the few remaining messaging apps in China that allowed users to engage in encrypted messaging, comes as China expands controls to shape public opinion and at times limit private discourse.

Users in China said that they could not get the app to connect without a VPN service. Messages failed to send and calls did not go through.