Battle for internet continues in China

The Chinese government has had a long-running history of restricting and censoring the internet. From blocking access to Google search results, to censoring websites with information that it believes provide information that would undermine the authority of the Chinese government and culture, China makes sure that it keeps tight controls on what its citizens are able to do online. Many citizens, in a quest for free access to information, have responded to these restrictions by using VPN services to get access to the outside world.

Now, it seems, the Chinese government has decided to start a new round in the war for the internet in China. As the Wall Street Journal reported this morning, China has begun clamping down access to the servers of companies that provide VPN services to Chinese citizens in an attempt to close the loopholes in its censorship regime. In addition, the government, which has always seemingly been at odds with Google, has apparently begun carefully disabling certain portions of Google’s popular Gmail service. Google has accused China of disabling Gmail in a way that makes it look like a technical error on Google’s part rather than all-out censorship. Google has previously accused the Chinese government of hacking into its Gmail system to compromise the privacy of Google’s users.

Only time will tell how this new round of restrictions and regulations will play out in China. Hopefully, in the long run, the government will back down on its restrictions and allow its people free and open access to the internet.