Beijing strengthens internet censorship efforts

Beijing has launched an all new internet censorship offensive, with a focus on unauthorized connections including virtual private network (VPN) services.

VPNs are known for their ability to bypass the “Great Firewall” of China, enabling tech-savvy users to access content that would otherwise be blocked.

According to a notice posted on the website of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on Sunday, the government said its clean-up campaign is aimed at internet service providers (ISP), internet data centers (IDC), and content delivery networks (CDN) companies, lasting until March 31, 2018.

“China’s internet connection service market ... has signs of ­disordered development that ­require urgent regulation and governance,” said the ministry.

Online gambling websites are just one type of website blocked under China’s vigorous internet censorship efforts.

According to Greatfire.org, quoted by South China Morning Post, around 135 out of 1,000 sites are blocked in China, including Google, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

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