China Blocks Whatsapp Messenger

China has completely blocked WhatsApp, security experts confirmed today to The New York Times.Over the past few months, WhatsApp has experienced brief disruptions to service in the country, with users unable to send video chats or photos. Now, even text messages have been completely blocked, according to Nadim Kobeissi, an applied cryptographer at Symbolic Software, a Paris-based research firm that also monitors digital censorship in China.

The move is a big blow to Facebook, which has been banned in China since 2009 and owns WhatsApp. With the blocking of WhatsApp, Facebook’s only remaining stake in China is the Colorful Balloons app that it stealthily released last month.

The company has declined to comment, following past practice when asked about WhatsApp’s difficulties in China.

Some say that this is largely due to its end to end encryption which allows users to send private messages which is against the communist laws of the country.