Brief: China orders telcos to block all personal VPNs by 2018

Photo credit: lculig / 123RF Stock Photo.

The news:

• The Chinese government has ordered the country’s telecommunication firms to block all access to personal VPNs by February 2018.
• This will close a major loophole in China’s censored internet, making it even harder for individuals, especially expats, from accessing popular web services like Google and Facebook.
• It’s unclear how this new order will affect corporations, but they will soon be able to lease lines from the government to access the unfiltered internet.

Why it matters:

• This move may impact international businesses the most. Past efforts to curtail VPN usage have made corporations think twice about expanding their activities in China.
• It may further entrench the advantage of Chinese companies in the local market, as their international competitors could become even harder to access.

Source: Bloomberg.