Inven Global

As first noticed and reported on by abacusnews.com, it appears that the video gaming streaming giant Twitch.Tv has been banned from mainland China. Reporting that Twitch "quietly disappeared from Apple’s App Store" Abacusnews first reported on a surge of popularity with regards to Twitch.tv app downloads in China.

Some outlets have speculated that the surge in popularity was the result of the country's CCTV State Broadcaster deciding to not air the 2018 Asia games -- a hugely popular esport event. Naturally, the popular demand of watching this event had many Chinese fans download Twitch.tv as a means of watching the games.

Twitch.tv is now part of an ever-growing list of popular apps, websites, and social media's that are not accessible within China. You can find a list of the most popular websites banned in China (provided by startlivinginchina.com) below

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Snapchat
• Instagram
• Youtube
• Pinterest
• Google+
• Blogspot
• Flickr
• Periscope
• Tinder
• Reddit
• Google
• DuckDuckGo
• Yahoo
• Facebook Messenger
• Whatsapp
• Telegram
• LINE
• KaKao Talk
• Signal
• Youtube
• Netflix
• Vimeo
• Dailymotion
• Twitch
• Periscope
• Instagram
• Snapchat
• Gmail
• Dropbox
• Google Drive
• Google Docs
• Scribd
• Slack
• New York Times
• The Economist
• Bloomberg
• Wall Street Journal
• Reuters
• Wikipedia (English)
• The Guardian
• Le Monde
• CNN
• BBC
• ABC

It is important to note, however, that VPN services that allow users to appear as though they are connecting to the internet from another country do allow people living in mainland China access to these websites. VPN's are, as of this report, not illegal for individuals to use in China and business are allowed to use VPN's if they get permission from the government.

However, it is a legal grey area and one that is likely purposefully left grey as, the reality of doing business in China makes the use of a VPN necessary. China still, at any point, could clamp down on individuals rights to VPN and make it a crime to use one.