Software
New Chinese browser gives a peek beyond the Great Firewall – with caveats.
China now has a tool that allows users to access YouTube, Facebook , Twitter , Instagram, Google and other internet services that have been prohibited in the country for a long time.
Named Tuber, the mobile browser recently debuted in China's third-party Android stores, with an iOS launch underway. The app's landing page features a scrolling feed of YouTube videos, with tabs at the bottom that allow users to visit other mainstream Western Internet services.
While some applaud the app as an unparalleled "opening up" of the Chinese Internet, others quickly found that the browser comes with a veil of censorship. YouTube searches for politically sensitive keywords such as "Tiananmen" and "Xi Jinping" returned no results on the platform, according to TechCrunch 's checks.
The use of the app also requires liabilities. Registration requires a Chinese phone number, which is connected to a person's true identity.
The platform could suspend the accounts of users and share their data "with the relevant authorities" if they "actively track or share" content that violates the constitution, endangers national security and sovereignty, spreads misinformation, disrupts social orders, or violates other local laws according to the terms of service of the app.
Instead of blocking pages outside the reach of Beijing and monitoring individuals using VPNs to bypass the Great Firewall, China now has an app that offers its citizens a glimpse of the Western Internet — with the caveat that their digital footprint might be under close scrutiny by the authorities.
Most of the app remains unknown, such as its origin and the motive behind it. The official website operator of the app (pop) is 70% owned by a subsidiary of Qihoo 360, a Chinese cyber security software giant. It remains to be seen if the app is going to take off.
