China has decided to tighten rules around Great Firewall

Jan 23, 2017 20:46 GMT  ·  By

Chinese authorities have decided to gain even more control over the Internet by restricting the use of virtual private networks.

What does this mean? Well, it means that governmental Internet censorship has just been taken to the next level.

Up until now, China was known for the “great firewall” on top of the local landmarks. This firewall was used by authorities to block access to large websites they deemed unfit for the local users, such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and many others. In response, local alternatives have been built, which are quite popular among users.

Ban on VPNs to remain in place until the end of March 2018

However, many netizens have discovered the wonders of the VPNs (virtual private networks), which are software that can be used to make it look like your IP comes from a different country and, thus, to give you access to the blocked content. This type of tools are not used only in China, but have been known to be used by Internet users all over the world when access has been blocked to various sites. For instance, authorities in Turkey, Egypt or Russia have been known to interrupt access to social media sites in times of civil unrest in order to prevent people from communicating, organizing gatherings, and even to spread the word about what’s going on inside the borders.

Despite the fact that freedom on the Internet is seen as freedom of expression by the United Nations Human Rights Council, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has announced its new rules, the South China Morning Post reports.

The Ministry excuses its move, saying that it is cleaning up the local Internet connection and announced the new rules are to go live immediately. The ban on VPNs and special cable connections will remain in place until the end of March 2018.

As expected, the rules are pretty vague, and it remains unclear just how they will be enforced. The announcement, however, seems to set the target on the companies that provide VPN services to individual citizens. That being said, if you are a professional working for a multinational corporation based in China, you might be off the hook.