China’s authorities have implemented a more stringent internet censorship regime in the central province of Henan, subjecting tens of millions of residents to stricter controls on internet access compared to the rest of the country. A research paper by Great Firewall Report found that internet users in Henan were denied access to an average of five times more websites than a typical Chinese user between November 2023 and March 2025. This is an indication of regional censorship emerging in China, according to researchers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Stanford University. China already has the world’s most sophisticated internet censorship regime, with a system known as the “great firewall” that restricts access to western news websites and social media platforms. The research began after users in Henan reported difficulties accessing websites available in other regions. By testing the top 1 million domains daily, researchers found that nearly 4.2 million domains were blocked at some point in Henan, over five times more than the nationwide average. Most of the domains blocked were business-related, which coincides with several finance-related protests in Henan in recent years. Other regions in China, such as Xinjiang and Tibet, have also faced enhanced internet controls. It is unclear whether the increased controls in Henan were imposed by local authorities or the central government in Beijing. The effectiveness of censorship and surveillance tools is being enhanced by rapid advancements in artificial intelligence in China. While AI can help create more sophisticated surveillance tools, it also offers opportunities for those seeking to understand and bypass censorship.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/24/alarming-rise-in-regional-internet-censorship-in-china-study-finds
