Chinese citizens can now be barred from leaving over technology security violations. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, file)
Article 4 of the State Council regulations says a Chinese citizen who breaches export control or technology import and export rules in a way that may endanger national industrial or technological security can be prohibited from leaving. Manus was founded in China in 2022 as Butterfly Effect, rebranded as a Singapore company, and used that address to raise American capital and build on frontier Western models. Manus resumed independent operations on September 1, after deleting user data generated from the day the deal was first announced. Court records mentioning exit bans went from 89 in 2016 to 188,760 last year, according to figures compiled by a rights group.
Meta announced the acquisition in December.
Lawyers have flagged “may endanger” as the loose thread, since the wording leaves enforcement largely to official discretion. A government fact checking platform has said ordinary travellers are not the target. Citizens who come home after committing acts abroad that harm national security face exit bans running from six months to three years. The National Development and Reform Commission cancelled it in April. Tencent has been in talks to become its largest shareholder. Civil servants have been surrendering passports to their employers for years, and the definition of a public servant has stretched to cover state schools, research institutes, public hospitals and, often, spouses and children. Private bankers serving wealthy mainland clients now travel without sensitive documents and courier them separately.