JAKARTA - China's cyber watchdog is drafting new regulations that will penalize individuals or companies for helping internet users in the country bypass the Internet security wall or Great Firewall by using a Virtual Private Network (VPN).
VPNs themselves are known to function to access censored information from abroad. However, the government will take tougher action against those who use or offer VPN services in China.
The new rules entitled "Network Data Security Management Regulations" were proposed by the Cyberspace Administration of China and state that no individual or organization will offer programs, tools, routes or other services such as internet access, server hosting, technical support, promotions and others for penetrate and bypass cross-border data security gates.
Compiled from Gizmochina, Tuesday, November 16, this latest step by the government is an effort to further increase its control over activities on the internet. This will likely also serve as a warning to many internet-based services or businesses.
Even so, this regulation is still in the draft stage, it may still be changed after public consultation. Of course this rule marks one of the most stringent attempts to penalize VPN services.
VPN services basically help users circumvent China's firewalls by directing their traffic through remote servers. That is, it allows people to bypass firewalls and access unrestricted online content.
However, if there are residents who violate this rule will be fined up to 10 times or the equivalent of 78,500 US dollars. In addition, companies that offer VPN services will even have their business licenses revoked. The new rules could also be used to target companies based overseas and operating in China.
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