 |
| Apple |
Tech giants Apple and Amazon, too, have moved to
limit their customers' access to VPNs in China in what has been seen as a
voluntary move to get ahead of the impending crackdown. Apple's removal of
software allowing internet users to skirt China's "Great Firewall"
from its app store in the country, the company confirmed has sparked criticism
it is bowing to Beijing's tightening web censorship
Enterprising internet users in China fear the
tools they use to tunnel through the country's "Great Firewall" may
soon disappear, as Beijing tightens its grip on the web.
Tens of millions of people are estimated to use
Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to bypass Chinese internet restrictions --
getting access to blocked websites such as Facebook and Twitter. Beijing has for years turned a blind eye to these
holes in its Great Firewall, but recent events suggest the virtual tunnels may
soon be bricked up.
In January China's Ministry of Industry and
Information Technology (MIIT) announced it would be banning the use of
unlicensed providers of the services. In the months since the rule's announcement,
rumours have swirled that a crackdown was coming, but there was little clarity
on what exactly the rule meant and how, or even if, it would be implemented.
In the past few weeks, however, omens of
significant tightening seem to be everywhere.
Several luxury hotels in Beijing have said they
will stop using the tools, which once provided unfiltered Internet as a
convenience to their customers.
On Thursday, a cloud service provider in the
capital notified users that it would practise shutting down and reporting VPN
providers on the orders of Beijing's Public Security bureau. Tech giants Apple and Amazon, too, have moved to
limit their customers' access to the tools in China in what has been seen as a
voluntary move to get ahead of the impending crackdown.
On Sunday, Apple said it was removing a number of
the programmes from its app store, while Amazon's Chinese partner said that
customers would no longer be allowed to use "illegal" VPNs on its
cloud service.
"There have been many rounds of government
murmurings about VPN crackdowns, and foreign and Chinese businesses had grown
used to only minor or temporary restrictions," said Graham Webster, a
senior researcher scholar at Yale Law School.
But "this time appears different."
'You cannot lock the heart'
For now, however, it still remains unclear who
will be able to access VPNs and under what circumstances, a situation that has
left both companies and regular users on tenterhooks. Ordinary people have reacted to the new rules
with a mixture of annoyance and quiet defiance.
"You've blocked the last way to watch US TV
dramas, as well as my Facebook friends!" one user of China's Twitter-like
Weibo platform said after the Apple announcement.
"You can lock my cellphone, but you cannot
lock my heart."
Firms are casting around for information about
the developments and have expressed alarm at the potential impact on the way
they do business.
In a statement, the European Chamber of Commerce
told AFP it "has not seen any updated official document concerning
restrictions on VPN use by companies," adding that in a recent survey of
its members almost half expressed concern that the "continued strengthening
of measures to tighten Internet control and access are having an even bigger
negative impact on their companies".
"Our members' success depends on
instantaneous access to information worldwide, and the ability to freely
communicate with affiliates, suppliers and customers around the world,"
William Zarit, Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in China said in a
statement to AFP. "Recent regulatory developments, including
limiting VPN use, have created uncertainty for cross-border data communication."
Apple has come under fire for bowing to the
rules, but in an earnings call Tuesday CEO Tim Cook said the firm had to follow
local laws. He said Apple was "hopeful that over time
the restrictions we're seeing are lessened, because innovation really requires
freedom to collaborate and communicate".
'Tighten Internet control'
Analysts said that Beijing was likely not looking
to choke off VPNS completely, but was instead seeking to control them more
tightly. James Gong, an expert on Chinese cyber law at
Herbert Smith Freehills, said that the regulations are not targeted at
companies.
The government can "shut things down, but
that's not their purpose," he said.
Instead "they want to drive all the traffic
through the network operators so all of the connections will be transparent to
them".
Paul Triolo, head of global technology at the
Eurasia Group, said he believes that the ultimate goal is not to cut off all
VPNs but to "get visibility on (their) use so that they know what is going
in and out and can turn off selectively if they want to or need to".
In a statement to AFP last month, MIIT explained
that under the new rules, companies will only be allowed to rent VPN services
from "telecommunications operators that have set up an international
communications entry and exit office in accordance with the law".
Previously released MIIT regulations state that
only state-owned telecoms can set up the offices, effectively guaranteeing that
all licensed VPNs are operated by the state.
A representative from state-owned telecom China
Unicom confirmed to AFP that it was legally allowed to rent VPN services to
businesses, as long as they provide proof of registration in China.
"It's highly unlikely that all VPN access
would be eliminated," Yale's Webster said, but added in the future the
software might be increasingly "expensive and government-controlled".
Apple's
China Problem Highlights Conundrum For Tech Sector
 |
Chinese
President Xi Jinping, left, shakes hands with Apple CEO Tim Cook, right, during
a gathering of CEOs and other executives at Microsoft's main campus in 2015
|
Apple's decision to bow to Chinese officials by
removing apps to sidestep online censorship underscores the dilemma faced by US
tech companies seeking to uphold principles while expanding their business.
The iPhone maker is the latest from Silicon
Valley to face a conundrum in balancing their value for human rights and free
expression against a government intent on controlling online content. Apple this week acknowledged it had removed
applications for so-called VPNs or virtual private networks, despite objections.
"We would rather not remove the apps, but
like in other countries, we obey the laws where we do business," Apple
chief Tim Cook said during an earnings call. "We are hopeful that over time, the
restrictions we are seeing are loosened, because innovation really requires
freedom to collaborate and communicate, and I know that is a major focus
there."
The prospect of Apple scoring a hit with a
10th-anniversary iPhone model in the months ahead appeared to outweigh backlash
from online rights activists who criticized the world's most valuable
technology company for not standing up for online freedom.
"There is a belief that millennials really
want companies to be more active in protecting people's rights and free
speech," Silicon Valley analyst Rob Enderle of Enderle Group told AFP.
"There is obviously no connection between
the rhetoric and buying behavior at this point."
Chinese internet users have for years sought to
get around the so-called "Great Firewall" restrictions, including
blocks on Facebook and Twitter, by using foreign VPN services.
"If other companies follow Apple's lead, it
could soon be much harder for people in China to access information freely
online," Amnesty International said in a blog post. "Businesses have a responsibility to respect
international human rights law... We would have expected a more robust stance
from Apple, a company that prides itself on being a privacy champion."
Under pressure
Cook maintained that the App Store in China
remained stocked with VPN apps, including creations from developers outside
that country. A commercial VPN securely relays internet
communications through a private channel, hiding it from locals networks and,
potentially, censors.
"This wasn't a choice they really wanted to
make, and I'm not sure what they could have done about it," analyst
Enderle said of Apple.
"They are not doing well in China, and
ticking off the leaders would certainly not help."
Apple and Chinese censors will ultimately
"face a barrage of pressures" from each other and from technology
users in China, US-based internet rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation
(EFF) said in an online post.
"If Apple makes too great a stand against
China's laws, it could be thrown out of the country," Eva Galperin and
Amul Kalia of the EFF said in post. "But if China pushes its censorship system
too hard, it will have to face the growing frustrations of its own elite."
They reasoned that there was hope the crackdown
on VPNs in China would recede when the political climate there improves.
Android upside?
There is a history of US internet stars being
humbled in China.
Yahoo a decade ago wound up having to make amends
after going along with Chinese officials demanding help some identifying
pro-democracy advocates who used Yahoo online message boards.
Microsoft has been doing business in China for
some 20 years, staying within guidelines set by the government.
Seven years ago, Google pulled its search engine
out of mainland China in a rare stand against censors and for internet privacy. "Google stood up and left, and now they
aren't a power in China," Enderle said of the cost of the move.
However, the removal of VPN applications in China
by Apple could ramp up the popularity of iPhone rivals powered by Google-backed
Android software that lets people get apps from unofficial marketplaces.
Apple's business model which requires users to
install only approved applications, ironically, makes it easier for a regime
like China to exert control, analysts point out.
Galperin and Kalia of the EFF said the Apple policy "creates a single chokepoint for free expression and privacy."
No comments :
Post a Comment