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Steam App Helps China Users Evade Censors – MIT Tech Review

Steam users are concerned that Wallpaper Engine will be cut off due to moderation, or that China's Great Firewall censors will ban the site. Photo: Valve

Steam is best known as a massive gaming platform for PC users, but a wallpaper app – to download images to decorate a monitor’s screen – is among its most popular software. The reason, MIT Technology Review says, it lets Chinese users bypass censors to download pornography.

Chinese users account for at least 40% of Wallpaper Engine’s global user base, the Review estimates, ranking along with blockbuster games such as Counter-Strike. However, the users are concerned that Wallpaper Engine will be cut off due to moderation, or that China’s Great Firewall censors will ban Steam.

Read the full report: MIT Technology Review

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George Russell

George Russell is a freelance writer and editor based in Hong Kong who has lived in Asia since 1996. His work has been published in the Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, New York Post, Variety, Forbes and the South China Morning Post.