Why are VPNs getting slower in China?
The government seems increasingly uneasy about people leaping over the great firewall
“The internet is not beyond the law!” warned police in Fujian province earlier this month. They had recently arrested a man, identified as Mr Gong, for using a virtual private network (VPN). This is a piece of software that can make it appear as if a computer or mobile phone is in another country. VPNs thus allow netizens to bypass the “great firewall”, as China’s system of online censorship is known. By using one, Mr Gong had allowed “false foreign information” to flow into China, the police claimed.
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This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “Access delayed”
From the August 24th 2024 edition
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