WPS Office, productivity software such as Microsoft Office released by Kingsoft from China has recently confirmed that the software can lock any file that comes with sensitive Chinese words.
The new update of the software is seen to introduce a typing or word tracker that allows the software to lock a file when a combination of certain words that are seen to interfere with general sensitivity is shown.
Even more surprising, this file locking function is active even when the software is not connected to the internet, and this worries many parties, especially small companies that rely on this software for daily productivity purposes.
This was shown recently when people in China who use the software were shocked because their work files were locked as if hacked by hostage software, with a warning that the files had "prohibited" content and access to the files was not allowed.
A novelist says that his manuscript file with a million words has been locked by WPS Office and to this day remains inaccessible. Content censorship in China is nothing new, but this can be seen as another move to force its citizens to comply with the country’s laws.
WPS Office is commonly used in China as a replacement for Microsoft Office software which is seen as much more expensive to subscribe to, but with such word restrictions, writers, office workers and companies in China seem to have to look for other alternatives for productivity purposes.