8 Dec 2025 | Americas, Asia and Pacific, China, Digital rights, Hong Kong, News, United States
The Chinese telecoms giant Tencent is trying to muzzle a service that offers an uncensored view of what users of the Chinese social media platform WeChat, which has 1.3 billion users, are posting.
The FreeWeChat platform.com is operated by China-based anti-censorship organisation GreatFire.org (a 2016 Index Freedom of Expression award-winner) which tracks censored and uncensored posts from WeChat.
FreeWeChat works by identifying WeChat posts that contain certain “sensitive” keywords and archives and monitors them all to see whether they are subsequently deleted from the social platform.
Typical words that cause content to be flagged include the so-called three Ts: Tiananmen, Taiwan and Tibet. If a monitored post subsequently disappears, FreeWeChat marks it as “censored” or “user deleted” depending on who has removed it – WeChat or the user themselves.
FreeWeChat is an invaluable resource for shedding light on the workings of China’s censorship regime. In the time FreeWeChat has been operating, it has allowed more than 700,000 censored WeChat posts to remain available for both Chinese users and others with an interest in censorship in the country.
Now, the very existence of FreeWeChat is now under threat, and Index has teamed up with other human rights groups to try and stop it being taken down.
The first threat to FreeWeChat came on 12 June 2025 when Tencent, the Chinese media company which runs WeChat, engaged Singapore-based cybersecurity firm Group IB to send a letter to Vultr, the USA-based cloud hosting provider of the FreeWeChat.com website. The letter, according to sources close to GreatFire, asserted trademark claims, without citing any activity that violated US laws.
Tencent claimed that FreeWeChat was infringing intellectual property rights by using the WeChat trademark and wording as well as “displaying articles which are censored/blocked by WeChat official channels and features an app download QR code in order to access more ‘banned’ WeChat content.”
The letter called on Vultr to suspend the freewechat.com website. On receipt of the letter, Vultr suspended the server and asked for a response from GreatFire on Tencent’s allegations.
GreatFire said: “We responded promptly, raising both process (did Vultr have any evidence that Group IB was actually an authorised agent of Tencent?) and substantive (our use of the name WeChat on a website tracking censorship on WeChat does not infringe on those marks) concerns.”
A subsequent letter from Group IB to Vultr doubled down on Tencent’s complaints, saying that FreeWeChat’s use of the logo was not permitted because it was not an informative website but was instead “clearly acting as WeChat by promoting content forbidden by the platform”.
It went on to argue that FreeWeChat is not only infringing Tencent’s trademarks but also its copyright. It also said that FreeWeChat was breaking US cybersquatting and competition laws.
Index on Censorship became involved in the case earlier in the summer, helping GreatFire respond to the allegations. In July we sent Vultr a letter co-signed by 17 human rights, free expression, press freedom, and digital rights organisations, reiterating concerns that Tencent was weaponising Vultr’s trust and safety process against public interest actors.
In early August Vultr’s lawyers assured Index on Censorship that the company was “committed to resolving all disputes, including this one, in an efficient and equitable manner”.
However, on 28 November, Vultr issued GreatFire with a formal 30-day notification of termination of services, a threat to the service’s very existence. For now, the freewechat.com site is still live as GreatFire has moved FreeWeChat to a second hosting provider. Yet how long it will remain live remains unclear. GreatFire says it is unsure whether the new provider has been contacted by Group IB or Tencent. It seems certain it will be.
A GreatFire spokesperson said, “We don’t want this to happen again to our projects. It’s difficult enough for us to fight the Chinese censorship apparatus. Even though we have come out on the losing end of this dispute, we hope that by sharing our story, we will dissuade other bad actors from taking a similar approach in the future.”
You can read more details of the case and how to support GreatFire here.
10 Oct 2025 | Africa, Americas, Asia and Pacific, Australia, Madagascar, Middle East and North Africa, News, Saudi Arabia, United States
Bombarded with news from all angles every day, important stories can easily pass us by. To help you cut through the noise, every Friday Index publishes a weekly news roundup of some of the key stories covering censorship and free expression. This week, we look at social media restrictions in Afghanistan and the indictment of Letitia James.
Afghanistan
Taliban sources have confirmed that new restrictions on social media platforms in Afghanistan this week are intentional.
Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat are among platforms facing disruption, according to global internet monitor NetBlocks, who also reported another internet outage in Kandahar province.
Last week saw a total telecommunications outage across Afghanistan, which Taliban officials told journalists was caused by old fibre optic cables that needed to be replaced. With this somehow causing a country-wide blackout of both internet and phone services.
USA
New York’s Attorney General Letitia James has been indicted on charges of fraud as part of a wider push by President Donald Trump to use the Justice Department as a weapon against his political enemies.
In 2022 in her position as Attorney General, James had filed a civil lawsuit against the Trump Organisation, as well as aiding in a three-year criminal investigation into Trump’s New York business dealings that led to a now overturned $500 million fraud ruling.
In order to prosecute James and also the former head of the FBI James Comey who had investigated Russian interference in the 2016 elections (and was fired by Trump), the President installed his former personal lawyer Lindsey Halligan as interim US attorney for the eastern district of Virginia. This was after her predecessor refused to bring charges against people Trump had characterised as enemies.
In September before these prosecutions started, Trump posted to Truth Social a message he later admitted was intended as a private memo to Attorney General Pam Bondi stating: “We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility. They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!”
Comey this week pleaded not guilty to charges of lying to congress.
Australia
Canberra, Australia, 9 October, whistleblower David McBride, who was jailed for leaking documents that alleged Australian Special forces had killed innocent people in Afghanistan, had an application rejected to have his case heard by Australia’s High Court.
This is the latest in an ongoing battle to have his sentencing overturned.
During the original trial, the Australian Government moved to prevent McBride from seeking protection under Australia’s whistleblower laws by blocking expert witnesses from speaking, citing “public interest immunity laws”.
The former military lawyer-turned whistleblower was convicted of three charges last year and sentenced to five years and eight months in prison for the theft of classified documents and for passing the documents to journalists at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
The documents formed the bases of an ABC investigation titled ‘The Afghan Files’ that claimed Australian Special forces units had committed war crimes whilst stationed in Afghanistan.
McBride is the only person imprisoned in relation to these crimes.
Madagascar
Even following the dissolution of his government, embattled President Andry Rajoelina of Madagascar refuses to step down in the face of large scale youth-led protests.
Rajoelina said at a press conference: “I swear that if power cuts persist in the capital within a year, I will resign.”
Protesters from group Gen-Z Mada were not convinced, calling for more protests to take place on Thursday, during which rubber bullets and tear gas were used to disperse demonstrators. They also called for a general strike as a display that they reject the President’s promises.
Saudi Arabia
Human Rights Watch have told comedians who performed at Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Comedy festival that they “cannot accept” money that originated from the government of Saudi Arabia.
The statement comes as comedians who performed at the festival scramble to get public opinion back on their side.
Bill Burr, Louis C.K. and Omid Djalili have all attempted to spin their participation as positive, whilst comics Aziz Ansari and Jessica Kirson offered to donate their fees in a futile effort to buy back public opinion.
15 Sep 2025 | About Index, Asia and Pacific, Nepal, News, Newsletters
It’s been a week of political violence and while many might still be glued to news about the murder of Charlie Kirk (my response here), I want to turn attention to another unfolding crisis – the growing war on digital freedoms. This week that war flared dramatically in Nepal.
The story moved fast. Thousands of people, mostly young, took to the streets at the start of the week to protest the government’s decision to ban 26 social media platforms. Scores of unarmed protesters were killed and government buildings torched. The prime minister and other officials then resigned. The social media bans were lifted. Writing for Index from the country this week, Gary Wornell spoke of his horror and sadness at what unfolded. “The Nepal I had known as my second home for the last 13 years would never be,” he said. His piece is both a good explainer and a deeply emotional witness account.
The government tried to justify the bans as necessary to tackle fake news, hate speech and platform accountability. The youth saw it differently, and called it censorship, plain and simple. We agree, not least because we’ve heard this line before, many times. Across South Asia (and for that matter the world) governments use the pretext of “online safety” to roll back digital rights and, by extension, civil liberties.
In India, we’ve closely tracked how Narendra Modi’s government has tightened control over digital platforms through legislative and regulatory measures, often under the guise of combating fake news or protecting national unity and security. The ruling party has also benefitted from the mob veto, where right-wing groups and influencers have lodged a blizzard of police complaints about errant social media posts. These have resulted in prominent individuals, such as commentator Dr Medusa and journalist (and Index award winner) Mohammed Zubair, being charged with sedition. In Pakistan a bill was passed in January that gives the government sweeping controls on social media. Users can now be sent to prison for spreading disinformation. Sri Lanka’s Online Safety Act allows the government to take down content critical of it to apparently protect national security interests. Bangladesh has the Digital Security Act, which has been criticised for its breadth. I’ll park the UK’s Online Safety Act but we have concerns about that too, as we’ve frequently highlighted.
Not all legislation is cynical or censorious. Several voices from our South Asia network reminded us this week that digital spaces are indeed being used to incite hate and violence. The amplification of hateful content against the Rohingya in Myanmar on Facebook is a tragic example. But here’s a distinction: recognising and responding to harm is not the same as justifying an authoritarian response. Even those most concerned with digital hate in South Asia condemned Nepal’s actions.
The fury has died down in Nepal. Still, as the above pattern shows, it’s unlikely this woeful chapter will be the end of government attempts to shut down digital discourse.
9 Sep 2025 | Africa, News, Newsletters, Tanzania
Social media activist Edgar Mwakabela, better known as Sativa, shouldn’t be alive today. In an interview with the BBC this week he spoke about how he was abducted last June in Tanzania’s main city Dar es Salaam and later taken to a remote area. His captors interrogated him about his activism and his criticism of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party. He was tortured and shot in the head. The bullet went through his skull and shattered his jaw. He was meant to die. Somehow he didn’t. That he still has a voice is the only positive part of this grim story.
It’s made all the grimmer by the fact that it stands out because of Sativa’s survival. It’s unlike the story of Ali Mohamed Kibao, whose body was found beaten and doused with acid last September. It’s unlike Modestus Timbisimilwa, who was shot dead by police last November as he tried to stop interference at polling stations. It’s unlike George Juma Mohamed and Steven Chalamila, both killed in their own homes the night before. All were part of the opposition.
Tanzania goes to the polls next month but as these examples show it’s insulting to suggest the elections will be remotely free or fair.
The CCM have been in power for decades, ever since colonial rule ended in Tanzania in the 1960s. They are currently led by Samia Suluhu Hassan, who proceeded the increasingly autocratic John Magufuli, a regular on the pages of Index (see here, here and here). When Hassan first took office as Tanzania’s president, there was cautious optimism that the rights landscape would improve – and it did for a bit. Gains were made in the realms of media freedom and protest rights. A ban on opposition gatherings was lifted. The tide has however turned.
The main opposition party, Chadema, has been barred from participating in the election. Chadema’s leader, Tundu Lissu, is currently in jail charged with treason, after he called for electoral reforms.
In addition to those who’ve been killed or jailed are the many disappeared. Posters of the missing have become a pre-election fixture. One high-profile case is that of artist Shadrack Chaula, who last July was imprisoned for an online video in which he allegedly “insulted” Hassan. He paid a hefty fine in exchange for his freedom only to disappear a month later. Another is Deusdedith Soka, a 30-year-old Chadema youth leader who disappeared last August after calling for a demonstration precisely against disappearances.
Hassan has condemned many of these brutal acts, denied any involvement and called for investigations. But they’re still happening under her watch in a country she leads. Last year Lissu said that Hassan “has done with a smile what Magufuli did with a snarl.” Compared to the execrable Magufuli, who was nicknamed the “bulldozer”, we’ve paid little attention to her. It’s clear that needs to change.
