BAIDU BANHAMMER
Following the WeChat and Alibaba moves to crackdown on cryptocurrencies, China's online search giant Baidu will begin to censor crypto-related discussions on its online forum platform Baidu tieba
Baidu Tieba, which hosts over 300 million monthly active users, will allegedly be banning sub-forums that contain crypto-related discussions due to relevant rules and regulations
So far, a quick search for "digital currency" and "virtual currency" shows that the sub-forums are unavailable with a statement that reads: "Sorry, this is not open according to relevant laws, regulations, and policies."
INSIDER INFO
According to a Baidu representative who spoke with CoinDesk, Baidu is monitoring and censoring crypto "the same with why WeChat did it"
If true, Baidu would only focus on censoring speculative crypto trading schemes and ICOs
A Baidu representative hinted that the reason for banning the sub-forums "digital currency" and "virtual currency" was that they were distributing information about ICOs
At the time of this writing, sub-forums like "bitcoin" and "ethereum" continue to remain active
CRYPTO VS. CENSORSHIP
Since Bitcoin's inception, censorship has been an enemy of the crypto community
Specifically, in China, the government's strict internet regulations call for strong censorship
In one case earlier this year, Chinese activists who were part of the #MeToo movement were unable to voice their opinions online so they turned to the Ethereum blockchain to encode their message free of censorship
If anything, China's continued attempt to ban cryptocurrencies only reiterates the need for crypto