Chinese software developer gets three days’ detention for helping internet users to bypass Great Firewall
Subscribers paid US$1.50 a month for the service, which provided access to virtual private networks
A Chinese software developer was detained last month for selling computer services that allow internet users to bypass China’s Great Firewall, which blocks access to thousands of websites and social media platforms, like Facebook and Twitter, local media reported.
The man, who was not named but said to be from the coastal province of Jiangsu, near Shanghai, was arrested in late August and held for three days for selling virtual private networks, Global Times reported on Monday, citing Xinhua.
VPNs create encrypted links between computers and allow web users to visit blocked sites by hiding the address from government filters.
Subscribers paid 10 yuan (US$1.50) a month for the service, the report said, adding that the authorities seized the developer’s earnings, which totalled 1,080 yuan.
Some internet businessmen have faced far harsher punishments: Earlier this year, a 26-year-old entrepreneur who sold VPN services in Dongguan, southern China’s Guangdong province, was sentenced to nine months in prison.