The internet in the People’s Republic of China is heavily regulated. The restrictions that the government has put in place are collectively referred to as the “Great Firewall of China.” It was reported earlier this week that China was going to ban all personal VPNs by February next year. The country’s relevant ministry has now offered some clarification on what the ban actually entails.
China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has said in a statement that VPNs operators that have permission won’t be affected. Domestic and international companies that rely on virtual private networks are not going to be affected by the ban as well.
The ministry has said that “the majority of users” are also going to be safe from the ban. It says that the ban only applies to “unapproved VPNs,” but doesn’t offer a distinction between approved and unapproved VPN providers.
While some uncertainty still remains, the country is making it clear that its recent move against virtual private networks is far from the blanket ban that was reported in the media.
Companies operating in the country would have undoubtedly been the most concerned as it becomes difficult for them to conduct business without having unrestricted access to the internet.
Filed in . Read more about China and VPN. Source: thepaper.cn