Advertisement
Kuniao web browser peeks over China’s Great Firewall but it’s no VPN, expert says
- Service advertises access to platforms that would otherwise be blocked
- But the product’s own terms and conditions make it clear users should proceed with caution
Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
A new web browser touted as providing Chinese internet users with a way to legally bypass the country’s notoriously tight internet censorship actually gives them only a glimpse of what lies beyond the so-called Great Firewall, according to a cybersecurity expert.
Developed by the Fuzhou-based Zixun Tech, the Kuniao product was advertised as the first legal tool to allow people access to “popular foreign websites”, like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Google, Reddit and Instagram.
But Dr Jyh-An Lee, an associate professor of law at Chinese University of Hong Kong, said people should not get too excited about the promotional claims.
Advertisement
“While users might think they are bypassing the Great Firewall, they are actually just subjecting themselves to a smaller version of it,” he said.
Advertisement
Just as the Great Firewall was built into China’s internet architecture, so Kuniao, which translates as “cool bird”, constructed a smaller firewall within individual users’ browsers, he said.
Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x