Great Firewall

British  

noun

1. informal a system that prevents access to websites deemed undesirable by the government of the People's Republic of China

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Etymology

Origin of Great Firewall

C21: a play on the _{Great Wall of China}

Example Sentences

For decades, the Great Firewall worked because information control meant controlling distribution channels by blocking websites, filtering search results, and monitoring social media.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 13, 2026

Resourceful activists have been finding new ways to get around this but even those few cracks in the Great Firewall - like AirDrop - are now slowly being plugged.

From BBC • Jun. 8, 2023

Asked by a reporter whether the United States planned on using tools to help Chinese internet users circumvent the Great Firewall, Jean-Pierre said she did not have any new information.

From Washington Post • Nov. 30, 2022

Though both are banned in China, Wang hopes his reports will trickle over China’s Great Firewall and into the country.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 19, 2022

A more severe step would be creating an analog to China’s Great Firewall, which restricts access to foreign websites on the outside and strictly controls what is allowed inside.

From New York Times • Mar. 7, 2022