What Causes a Website to be Blocked by the Great Chinese Firewall  

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In China, there are rigorous conditions that websites must meet in order to allow their content to be accessible. The Chinese government makes sure that the Chinese people have access only to the information they are supposed to get.

Any other information deemed inappropriate is restricted by blocking the offending website. The Chinese firewall, aptly named as the Great Firewall of China or GFoC, aims to ensure that only the required information allowed by the government reaches the people of China. Here is how to test if a website is blocked in China based on the website content.

Analyze your website content

If your website content is not in line with the requirements of the Chinese government, you can bet that the GFoC will block your website. This firewall aims to filter keywords and block websites that do not meet the required content guidelines set by the Chinese government. 

According to the Chinese government, it has the obligation to safeguard the Chinese people from being negatively affected by disinformation on the internet, and website content that defames it, spreads rumors, or incites the public against it is to be kept from the public. The regulation lists the kind of content targeted by the Great Firewall of China though the guidelines change from time to time. The best way to fend over such threat is to create a firewall that filters every piece of information based on keywords to accurately block content that is suspicious and could pose a threat to it among its people. If you analyze your website content and realize that there could be information that in any way directly or indirectly violate their rules and regulations, you can be sure that it will be blocked.

Ensure that your website only delivers non-offending content and observes facts that are in no way political

The firewall of China eliminates political content contradictory to its belief. If your website has political content, albeit benign or neutral in your mind, even content created by your users, you need to worry about the well being of your entire website. That’s because the Chinese government may view that as rumor and incitement, depending on the political climate of the day. As a result, you should constantly test if the firewall of China blocks your website, to make sure that you are in good standing.

No government likes to be challenged, and neither does the Chinese government. Political information could give the Chinese pole ideas to challenge the government, which cannot be tolerated. For such a reason, the Chinese firewall is set in place to block websites such as yours if it has any dubious political content.

Social media related content

Any site connected to social media is considered a threat to the stability of the Chinese society and some form of incitement to the people of China. For this reason, if your website is in any way linked to social media platforms such as Twitter or Facebook that feeds content in real time without filtering, the great firewall of China will definitely block it. It will also slow down the speed of your site if not entirely blocked.

Generally, the perfect test to know if the great firewall of china will block your website is to ask someone in China whether they can access your content. Some people may try to use a VPN in the hope that it may bypass the firewall, but it is not a surefire way of getting the true picture. If you are unsure of your content or lack knowledge of the Chinese legal framework, it is advisable to leave such matters to experts such as goclickchina.com, a specialized firm with expertise in testing and optimizing your web performance in China.