Beijing targets foreign firms in internet crackdown
China Telecom sends letter to corporate clients saying VPNs can only connect to their overseas headquarters
China is tightening control over foreign companies’ internet use in a move some worry might disrupt their operations or jeopardise trade secrets as part of a crackdown on technology that allows web surfers to evade Beijing’s online censorship.
In a letter to corporate customers seen by The Associated Press, the biggest Chinese internet service provider says virtual private networks, which create encrypted links between computers and can be used to see sites blocked by Beijing’s web filters, will be permitted only to connect to a company’s headquarters abroad. The letter from state-owned China Telecom said VPN users were barred from linking to other sites outside China – a change that might block access to news, social media or business services that are obscured by its “Great Firewall”.
The letter repeats an announcement from January that only VPNs approved by Chinese authorities are allowed. That has prompted fears of possible loss of trade secrets or information about customers or employees among companies that question the reliability of Chinese encryption services and whether authorities might read messages.
Regulators announced a crackdown in January to stamp out the use of VPNs to circumvent web censorship.
