This August, the Jakarta Palembang 2018 Asian Games (a pan-Asian multi-sport tournament) were held in the Indonesian cities of Jakarta and Palembang. For the first time in the games’ history, esports were included among the various sporting events. As China took home two gold medals, and esports made their debut, many Chinese, and gamers around the world, were eager to watch the tournament. Unfortunately, many fans could not because state-run media, CCTV, did not broadcast the event. In turn, many Chinese citizens flocked to Twitch to watch the games, resulting in a massive spike in downloads for the streaming site.
Seemingly in response, and since yesterday, Twitch’s website has become inaccessible in China, and its app is no longer available in the country’s iOS App Store, suggesting that Chinese authorities deliberatly moved to censor the streaming service.
According to The Verge’s Shannon Liao, this block follows a regular pattern by Chinese censors who, as a precaution, will block Western media platforms that become too popular.
While Twitch has since confirmed the block in China, it has not provided any further details.
Other popular companies like Facebook, Google, Twitter and Reddit have also run afoul of the Great Firewall of China. So far, Chinese authorities have not released any official statements.
[Source: BBC News]
Source: Game Informer Twitch Streaming Service Has Been Blocked In China