The Chinese Government has placed a ban on social media platform, Pinterest.
The ban on the social media platform which allows users share pins or other items of interest comes as part of the country’s increased crackdown on websites.
Reporting on the ban of the website which has largely been freely accessible in the country and mostly used for sharing images of decorations, hair styles, cooking, wedding planning and fashion, Greatfire.org, a watchdog group noted that the block started earlier this month.
The watchdog group which monitors censorship and accessibility of websites in China revealed that most activities on the social media platform had not necessarily raised red flags in the past.
However, the ban comes in time for the China’s annual National People’s Congress which is a sensitive time in Beijing as Chinese top leaders and thousands of delegates are expected to gather to delegate on the country’s political and economic course.
It has however been speculated that the ban on Pinterest by the Chinese government is a means of protection and elimination of rivals of its local and emerging platforms.