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Chinese Censorship on Zoom Is a Major Problem for U.S. Colleges and Universities

Chinese Censorship on Zoom Is a Major Problem for U.S. Colleges and Universities
A sign for Zoom in New York, April 18, 2019 (AP photo by Mark Lennihan).

Editor’s Note: Every Wednesday, WPR Newsletter and Engagement Editor Benjamin Wilhelm curates the week’s top news and expert analysis on China.

American video-conferencing company Zoom recently admitted that it crossed a line by temporarily closing the account of a group of U.S.-based Chinese activists last month after they held a virtual event to commemorate the June 4 anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. Zoom insisted that it did so in order to “comply with local law,” but without stating which law it had violated.

Zoom has since pledged that censorship requests from the Chinese government will no longer affect users outside of mainland China. It is also working on new features that will allow the company to block users based on their location.

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