China is reinforcing its censorship of the internet with a campaign to crack down on unauthorised connections, including virtual private network (VPN) services, that allow users to bypass restrictions known as the Great Firewall, with a 14-month-long “clean-up” of the internet industry.
The ministry of industry and information technology said it is launching the nationwide crack down aimed at internet service provider (ISP), internet data centre (IDC) and content delivery network (CDN) companies.
Between now and March 2018, authorities will enforce the regulations with inspections of cloud-hosting and content-delivery services, an industry that has shown signs of “disorderly development”, the ministry said.
It ordered checks for companies operating without government licences or beyond the scope of licences.
The ministry said it was forbidden to create or rent communication channels, including VPNs, without governmental approval, to run cross-border operations.
VPNs can be used to gain access to blocked websites.
China has the world’s largest population of internet users – now at 731 million people – and is home to some of the biggest internet firms such as Tencent, Baidu and Alibaba.
The government also aggressively censors the internet, blocking many sites it thinks could challenge the rule of the Communist Party or threaten stability, including sites such as Facebook and Google’s main search engine and Gmail service.
The ministry has asked telecoms infrastructure providers to verify their clients’ use of network resources.
This month, China’s internet regulator said it would begin regulating mobile app store offerings after it found apps that disseminated information it considered illegal or a danger to social stability.
* Agencies
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