Inquirer

Inquirer: Philippine News Site Blocked in China and North Korea

What Inquirer Is

Philippine Daily Inquirer is the largest broadsheet newspaper in the Philippines by circulation, launched in 1986 during the country's transition to democracy. It is owned by Inquirer Holdings, part of the larger Prieto conglomerate, and serves as one of the Philippines' primary English-language news sources. The publication maintains a significant online presence through inquirer.net, reaching millions of readers across Southeast Asia and the global Filipino diaspora.

Why It's Censored

Inquirer faces active blocking in China and North Korea, though for distinct reasons.

In China, the censorship stems from the Chinese government's comprehensive internet control apparatus and perceived editorial independence on sensitive topics. While Inquirer is not explicitly named in Chinese law, it falls under the broad category of foreign news outlets restricted under Article 19 of China's Cyberspace Security Law. The outlet has published reporting on South China Sea disputes, human rights concerns, and coverage critical of Chinese government actions—content that conflicts with state narratives enforced by the Cyberspace Administration of China. No formal ban notice is typically issued; instead, systematic technical restrictions prevent access for mainland users.

In North Korea, blocking is total and non-negotiable. Access to foreign news sources is part of North Korea's information isolation policy under the Korean Central News Agency monopoly. The regime maintains hermetic control over all external information flows, and Inquirer—along with virtually all international media—is inaccessible to civilian networks. This reflects the regime's foundational information policy rather than response to specific reporting.

Technical Blocking Methods

China employs multiple overlapping blocking techniques. DNS filtering routes Inquirer's domain to null or spoofed addresses at the ISP level. IP-based blocking prevents direct access to inquirer.net's servers. More sophisticated Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) can identify and throttle HTTPS traffic to known news outlets, even when encrypted. SNI filtering—which inspects unencrypted TLS handshakes—also intercepts connections to the domain, though this is less reliable than in earlier blocking iterations.

North Korea's blocking is less technically documented. The country maintains a walled national intranet (Kwangmyong) separate from the global internet for most citizens. Foreign websites, including Inquirer, are blocked at the network architecture level. Limited external connectivity exists only through tightly controlled government channels and sanctioned entities, making technical details difficult to verify.

User Workarounds

Users in China seeking to access Inquirer typically employ circumvention tools that route traffic outside mainland networks, allowing passage around filtering checkpoints. Proxy services, whether residential or data-center based, mask the user's origin and destination, defeating both DNS and IP-level blocks. HTTPS over proxy protocols can evade certain DPI detection. Users aware of DNS filtering sometimes configure alternative nameservers, though Chinese ISPs increasingly block non-compliant resolution attempts.

In North Korea, circumvention is substantially harder. Access requires either leaving the country's networks entirely or obtaining rare authorization through state channels. No practical user-level workaround exists within the national framework.

Alternatives

Regional English-language news sources like Bangkok Post and Straits Times offer broader Asian coverage and face less consistent blocking in China, though both have experienced temporary restrictions during politically sensitive periods. Al Jazeera English maintains larger international infrastructure and server distribution, complicating systematic blocking, though China periodically restricts access. These alternatives do not fully replace Inquirer's Philippines-focused reporting.

Outlook

Censorship of Inquirer in China shows no sign of easing. Restrictions have remained consistent since the mid-2010s as Beijing's internet controls have intensified, not relaxed. North Korean blocking is permanent under current political conditions. Regional geopolitics—particularly China-Philippines tensions over South China Sea territorial disputes—may actually tighten Chinese restrictions on Philippine independent media, making access increasingly difficult without technical countermeasures.