NordVPN to fight China on VPN ban

NordVPN has pledged to do everything in its power to fight an edict by the Chinese Government to ban the use of virtual private networks (VPNs) in the nation.

Bloomberg reported earlier this week that the Chinese Government has instructed the nation’s three state-owned telecommunications operators to bar their customers from using VPNs from February 2018.

While the report is based on unnamed sources, the Chinese Government already exercises tight control over the internet in the nation via what is known colloquially as the Great Firewall of China.

Many Chinese internet users rely on VPNs to circumvent web blocks in the nation and access sites including Google, Twitter and Facebook, as well as news websites blocked in China such as The New York Times. China’s homegrown search engine, Baidu, automatically restricts the results of certain web searches.

NordVPN CMO Marty Kamden said the company is in the process of strengthening its position in China, launching an app for Windows and planning to introduce Mac, iOS and Android apps.

“NordVPN stands for freedom of speech and free access to internet around the world. When it comes to China, nothing is ever certain, and that’s the approach we took from the get-go,” he said.

“It’s not yet clear how the Chinese Government is going to implement the ban from the technical point of view. However, we at NordVPN will do everything within our power to enable our users to continue enjoying the internet freedom.”

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