Following a report that Chinese authorities had ordered state-owned ISPs to block VPNs, the government has published a statement. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said no such notice had been issued and “legitimate access” to the global
Following a report that Chinese authorities had ordered state-owned ISPs to block VPNs, the government has published a statement. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said no such notice had been issued and “legitimate access” to the global Internet, by businesses and general users, will be permitted.
Photo:eastday
Chinese authorities have stated that personal VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) will not be banned (in Chinese), but Facebook and Instagram addicts may not be safe yet.
After news broke out that state-run telecommunications carriers—including China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom—will block individuals from accessing VPNs by February 2018, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) responded saying that reports from foreign media are untrue.
The Ministry stated that it has not banned personal VPN use and explained that the notice—which was issued in January this year—concerns cross-border business activities and does not include domestic and foreign enterprises as well as the majority of users.
In comments to China-based media outlet The Paper, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology denied issuing a notice to the telecoms companies requiring them to block user VPNs. It said that “foreign media reports” were inaccurate.
“Our subordinate Secretary did not issue the relevant notice, what foreign media reported was false,” the Ministry said.
The local media report then has the Ministry citing news that previously broke in January, detailing the new government measures that require cross-border enterprise-level VPN systems to be authorized and licensed.
“Foreign trade enterprises and multinational companies, due to office for personal use and other reasons, need to access cross-border networking,” the Ministry said, adding that licensing is available and won’t have a detrimental effect on normal operations.
Photo: Sohu
Although it’s difficult to ferret out individual VPN users, one way telecoms can make it harder is by not providing certain services, such as server access to VPN businesses. Other laws might make it harder for VPN businesses to operate, too.
Last month Beijing enacted the long-gestating Cybersecurity Law, which regulates where companies can store and move data generated in China. The law is part of the government’s effort to restrict cross-border data flow. Apple announced today (July 12) that it is setting up its first data center in China to comply with the law, which requires foreign firms to store data within the country.
At the local level, too, provinces and cities are taking new steps to stop VPN use. In March, the city of Chongqing published a notice that specified fines of as much as 15,000 yuan ($2,210) against individuals and organizations for establishing or using channels (link in Chinese) to connect to international networks. Although the notice did not specify VPNs, users of VPNs were targeted, reported state media Global Times.
So far, the opposite is true: one of China‘s most popular VPN service providers, Green VPN, was ordered to cease operations in June 2017.
Only time will tell how the landscape will pan out.
