After being blocked from the country in 2009, Facebook has developed a censorship tool in an effort to re-enter China after a seven-year ban.
Mark Zuckerberg met China’s propaganda chief Liu Yunshan back in March and said he hoped Facebook could strengthen exchanges as well as improve mutual understanding with China’s internet companies.
Facebook spokeswoman Arielle Aryah said: “We have long said that we are interested in China, and are spending time understanding and learning more about the country,”
“However, we have not made any decision on our approach to China. Our focus right now is on helping Chinese businesses and developers expand to new markets outside China by using our ad platform”
This censorship tool will restrict stories from showing up in news feeds based on a user’s location. Facebook won’t suppress the posts itself. Instead, it intends to offer the software to enable a third party – most likely a partner Chinese company – to monitor stories and topics that users share on the platform.
There is no indication that the social media site has offered the software to authorities in China. At this stage, it is an idea Facebook has discussed with respect to entering China and it may never be fully developed.
The site was initially banned in China in 2009 following the Ürümqi riots due to Xinjiang independence activists using Facebook as part of their communications network.
It’s no secret that Facebook, which has 1.8 billion active users, wants to expand its reach around the world. It is currently working on ways to get more people on the site in India. Expansion into China will allow Zuckerburg to tap into the 1.3 billion population, who are currently banned.
Read more about Facebook’s attempts to tackle fake news and the company’s hopes to increase UK staff by 50%