The Chinese social media giant WeChat has enforced fresh censorship on its users as the Chinese government holds its National Congress meeting. National Congress occurs once every 5 years and is a very important political summit where the ruling Communist Party's leadership and policies are decided. In an apparent clampdown on political expression, WeChat has introduced a temporary block on the ability for users to change their profile pictures, nicknames and taglines. These features are often used to express political opinions. WeChat says that the restrictions will be lifted at the end of October, which happens to be just after the end of the Communist Party's National Congress. Censorship is commonplace in China. The country is ranked as the worst in the world for internet freedom by the non-profit organisation Freedom House.
