China tightens censorship on the Internet
China has further tightened its internet censorship. Even so-called tunneling services (VPNs), which allow users to bypass the blocks, are currently being severely disrupted by what appear to be improved technical capabilities.
China tightens censorship on the internetLarge providers of VPN connections such as Astrill and Golden Frog reported on Monday that some of their servers were no longer accessible from China. Astrill reported that its transmission protocols for the Apple iOS mobile operating system were "heavily blocked".
Users complained that they could no longer establish tunnel connections with their iPhone or iPad to access blocked websites. Golden Frog reported that many of its servers were "currently no longer accessible" from China. Other VPN services are also affected.
China routinely blocks social networks such as Facebook, Twitter or YouTube and even Google services such as search or GMail. Websites of human rights organizations or various foreign newspapers such as the New York Times or Wall Street Journal are also blocked. Many Chinese people therefore use paid tunnel services to bypass the blockades.
Most recently, China's internet censorship also blocked access to GMail via smartphone email apps. Google withdrew from China in 2010 to avoid having to continue censoring itself. Since then, the authorities have been taking action against Google services. (SDA)
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