China to clamp down on VPNs bv next February

Published:  11 Jul at 6 PM
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Tagged: USA, China, Euro
Reports that the Chinese government are to block the use of all VPNs from next February onwards are causing concern amongst expat netizens and small business owners.

A recently released article by journalists working for Bloomberg Technology claims inside information confirms an order sent to China’s various internet service providers to ban the use of VPNs by individuals. Should this happen, vast swathes of the huge country will effectively be cut off from the uncensored internet.

At the present time, no official corroboration of the article’s content has been made, but many believe the order may well have been given due to the Chinese government’s attitude to VPN usage. Recently, Beijing has carried out a crackdown on VPNs, starting with a January announcement that all VPN and cable internet service providers must register and receive government approval in order to stay in business.

According to officials, the announcement was the starting point for a 14 month ‘clean-up’ of the country’s internet services. Part of the statement asserted that ‘China’s internet connection market shows disordered development and requires urgent governance and regulation’. Chinese VPN users and expat entrepreneurs working in the country are now complaining that several VPN providers have already shut down.

Given that it may not even be possible to successfully and totally block VPN providers rather than simply initiate crackdowns, banning their use would cause huge issues for the many international corporations with offices in China, all of whom need a secure way of accessing their servers overseas. As China continues to connect and do business with the rest of the world, smaller companies are also finding VPN access is the only reliable way to get internet access.

Source: Shanghai Expat News
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