China now has a tool that allows users to access YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google and other internet services that have long been banned in the country.
A mobile browser called Tuber debuted this week in Android stores in China, and is gearing up to launch on iOS. The app landing page has a scrolling YouTube video stream with tabs at the bottom that allows users to visit other major western internet services.
While some mark the app as an unprecedented "discovery" of the Chinese Internet, others quickly noticed that the browser comes with a veil of censorship. According to tests conducted by TechCrunch, YouTube queries for politically sensitive keywords such as "Tiananmen" and "Xi Jinping" did not return results in the app.
The use of the application is also subject to certain conventions. Registration requires a Chinese phone number that is tied to a real person. The platform may suspend user accounts and share their data “with the relevant authorities” if they “actively watch or share” content that violates the constitution, endangers national security and sovereignty, spreads rumors, disrupts public order, or violates other local laws ...
Instead of blocking sites outside of Beijing's purview and tracking "illegal" VPN use to bypass the Great Firewall, China now has an app that gives its people a glimpse into the Western Internet - with the caveat that their digital footprint may be closely monitored by the authorities.
Much about the service remains unclear, such as its origins, motives, and the technology it uses to circumvent China's complex censorship system. According to the business registration information on the official website of the app operator (上海 丰 炫 信息 技术 有限公司), Tuber is 70% owned by a subsidiary of Qihoo 360, a Chinese cybersecurity software giant.
While Tuber appears to be targeting YouTube viewers in China with its video interface, its sister product Sgreennet, available on both PC and mobile, is a regular web browser connecting users to censored foreign sites. Sam Qihoo 360 is present in the browser the Chinese market since 2008.
Based on VPN encryption technologies, Sgreennet allows "no one to track, collect or share a user's personal data," the app claims, which is likely to generate skepticism among those familiar with Qihoo 360's tainted reputation. Musical.ly early investor Fu Sheng claimed back in 2010 that Qihoo 360 collects user data, including passwords. Software manufacturerSogou filed a lawsuit against the company in 2013 over anti-competitive tactics. The most famous and infamous incident is the long battle with Tencent a decade ago, which disrupted hundreds of millions of users.
For an annual fee of around $ 50, Sgreennet allows users to skip ads, stream Netflix content, and download high-definition videos, which are likely to hit platforms like YouTube alive.
Within two days, Tuber received over 5 million downloads on Huawei's Android app store alone. It is certainly not the first browser in China to claim it can bypass the Great Firewall without a VPN, although few have received that much attention. Prohibited articleThe app went viral on WeChat on Friday and contributed to its instant success. It's safe to say that tens of millions of Chinese people have already used the app to explore the heavily censored Western internet.
It's unclear if Beijing has given Qihoo 360 the green light to continue the browser project. It's no surprise if that turns out to be the case, given that the firm's two executives are key members of the China Cybersecurity Association , an organization that seeks to unite industry and academia around government cybersecurity governance issues, including censorship.
Qihoo 360 cannot be contacted for comments.