WhatsApp uses part of a security protocol developed by Open Whisper Systems, a company that has its own “app” signal for completely secure messaging. Now that WhatsApp has end-to-end encryption, no party - government, police, hackers, other users - can intercept and read messages anymore. WhatsApp advertises this novelty, namely that only the sender and recipient can read their messages.
The introduction of end-to-end encryption is due to known cases where authorities have required communication service providers to release sensitive personal data. One example was the attack on San Bernadino in 2015, when the FBI asked Apple to unlock an iPhone used by one of the terrorists. Apple refused, emphasizing the universal values that many large communications companies have in protecting personal data, security and encryption. This case has sparked numerous debates on the advisability of communication service providers to transmit personal data to the Authorities, in full-blown criminal cases of considerable gravity.
The novelty of end-to-end technology has also alerted the Chinese government.
On June 18, 2017, Beijing tightened its controls on the internet and strangely enough, WhatsApp suffered a temporary outage. Many users have suddenly found themselves unable to send videos, photos and voice messages, even using a virtual private network (VPN) to circumvent Chinese filters. Some were not even able to send text messages, so there was a total block.
China operates the largest censorship system in the world, known as the Great Firewall of China (GFW), which blocks thousands of popular websites, social media sites and applications including Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Search engines like Google are blocked and access to a large number of foreign news. Other encrypted messaging applications, such as Telegram, are also blocked.
However, the partial blocking of WhatsApp could soon become a total ban. Some speculate on the story claiming that only the Chinese WeChat is to be supported. Tencent's WeChat is the most popular messaging application in China chosen and not secure in terms of privacy, it has over 490 million users in the country. While WhatsApp has around 2 million.
WeChat is known for automatically filtering media files, such as images and videos, in a private chat, during a conversation. When an image is sent by a user, it disappears and does not reach the end user. WeChat was accused of listening to voice messages, censoring content based on particular keywords and handing over the data to authorities.
A reporter, who prefers to remain anonymous, says police questioned him after sending a protest message to a WeChat group:
"the government censures anything that may endanger the country's leadership. This kind of censorship is therefore considered by the Chinese people as a repression on the freedom of the Internet, which is contrary to its own internet offer, namely the freedom to communicate".
The doctrine of web sovereignty, which emerged in China in the early 2010s, is now directing Beijing's Internet policy, where it seeks to establish a national, as opposed to a global, Internet. The national Internet would only run within borders, without external contamination.
VPN blocking
Despite China's great firewall, many young people still manage to access blocked sites and applications using virtual private networks (VPNs). Again, the Chinese government is moving swiftly to block access to all popular VPN services as well.
Alternative Secure Comms
WhatsApp is now banned in 12 countries, including recent censorship in China. With the demonstrated ability of China and other countries to intercept messages, people look for alternative encrypted messaging applications.
Businesses are moving hand in hand with censorship and enforcement Chenega Secure Comms for Android, iOS and Mac OS and Windows, offers end-to-end encrypted messaging, where record conversations and global burning can destroy messages on both sides before external actions.