Archive of Our Own, one of the Internet’s biggest fanfiction sites, blocked in China amid new censorship rules

Archive of Our Own, also known as AO3, says its site is inaccessible in China and it is “not due to anything on our end”. The site’s disconnection from China’s Internet has angered some users, who blame fans of actor Xiao Zhan for reporting a story featuring their idol. — SCMP

Archive of Our Own (AO3), one of the world’s biggest fanfiction sites, appeared to be blocked in China on Feb 29 as regulators further tightened Internet controls, with some users furiously blaming fans of a popular actor for the government’s action.

“Unfortunately, the Archive of Our Own is currently inaccessible in China,” the Organisation for Transformative Works, a US non-profit group that operates AO3, said on its Twitter account. “We've investigated, and it is not due to anything on our end.”