Clubhouse Sees Influx of s From China Where the US App Remains Uncensored 3h406n Technology News

Clubhouse saw explosive growth in numbers after Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev held a surprise discussion on the platform. 1k2i1l

By Reuters | Updated: 8 February 2021 10:57 IST

Clubhouse Sees Influx of s From China Where the US App Remains Uncensored

Mainland Chinese s can access Clubhouse by modifying the location of their app store 5u555o

Highlights

China's cyber authorities have become increasingly strict in recent years
While Clubhouse remains uncensored, it is only available on iOS devices
Clubhouse is unavailable in the local Apple app store

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Private social audio app Clubhouse is attracting masses of new s from mainland China, where the US app remains uncensored by authorities despite flourishing discussions on rights, national identity, and other sensitive topics.

Western social media apps including YouTube are banned in China, where the local Internet is tightly censored to weed out content that could undermine the ruling communist party.

The surprise discussion on the platform.

Clubhouse, the Invite-Only Social Media App, Booms in Japan

Its chat rooms are only accessible via invites from current , and as of Sunday, invites to the platform were selling for between CNY 50 (roughly Rs. 560) - CNY 400 (roughly Rs. 4,500) on popular Chinese e-commerce sites.

Reuters directly observed several Chinese-language 'club' conversations where thousands of s listened to wide-ranging audio discussions covering topics including Xinjiang detention camps, Taiwan independence and Hong Kong's National Security Law.

China's cyber authorities have become increasingly strict in recent years, widening the scope of apps, media outlets, and social media sites banned in the country.

Clubhouse, the Invite-Only Social Media App, Is Slowly Getting Pried Open

While Clubhouse remains uncensored, it is only available on Apple app store, both major barriers for its widespread use in China.

Mainland Chinese s can access the app by modifying the location of their app store.

It's unclear why the app remains unblocked in China, though some foreign social sites with small Chinese followings manage to operate under the radar of censors, including 8kun, a central hub for QAnon followers.

In one club chat centred on Hong Kong politics, activists, journalists, and artists discussed former US president Trump and his base in the former colony.

Another popular Chinese language club on the site as of Saturday involved a rare open exchange between netizens in mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong over heightened political tensions in the region.

The discussion became a hot topic on China's own Weibo on Saturday.

"I don't know how long this environment can last", said one in a popular Weibo post that was liked over 65,000 times. "But I will definitely this moment in Internet history."

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