China wants you to know it means business on its new censorship rules.
The government has told three telecommunications carriers to completely block users from accessing virtual private networks (VPN) by Feb. 1, 2018, according to a Bloomberg report.
SEE ALSO:For China's censors, livestreaming is a huge headacheThis is huge. Many people in China rely on VPN providers to access information from dozens of popular websites that are blocked in the country. We're talking Google, Facebook and Twitter, to name a few, not to mention foreign news sites.
And although China has been talking about shutting down VPN providers for some time now, this latest announcement comes at the internet service provider (ISP) level, meaning users can't simply hop to another VPN provider if their favourite one gets shut down.
The carriers involved -- China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom -- are all state-owned and are the country's biggest operators. That means most users are going to be on one of the three, and will be affected.
China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology had earlier pledged in January that it would move to tighten control over VPNs, adding that all VPN services would need to obtain prior government approval.
It said at the time it would embark on a 14-month long campaign to "clean-up" China's internet services.
Chinese internet users had reacted negatively to initial reports of the ban in January.
"How will we declare our love for China on Facebook without VPN?" said one user on Weibo.
"Why are you preventing us from knowing what's on the outside? I really don't understand," another said.
"What about my 483 fans on Instagram??" one asked.
Bad news for free speech
The crackdown is bad news for free speech in China, which recently took a hit after the government moved to ban livestreaming on three major platforms.
According to Stan Rosen, a professor at the University of Southern California specialising in Chinese politics and society, China's crackdown is a show of force before the Communist Party's 19th National Party Congress, which is expected to happen in the later half of this year.
The congress will see the next leader of the Communist party be elected, or re-elected. It could explain Chinese president Xi Jinping's emphasis on cleaning up the internet -- his political fate might depend on it.
TopicsPolitics
(责任编辑：綜合)
Twitter grants everyone access to quality filter for tweet notifications
The Cassini spacecraft dove between Saturn and its rings: Here are the photos to prove it
Cypress Hill and the London Symphony Orchestra seem to be collaborating IRL
Leeches are making a slimy comeback in modern medicineKaty Perry talks 'Rise,' her next batch of songs, and how to survive TwitterOne of the first Apple computers ever made is currently up for auction.A rare "Celebration" Apple-1
...[详细]How to watch Microsoft's #MicrosoftEDU event live
Microsoft is about to unveil new products -- both hardware and software -- Tuesday, and you can join
...[详细]The internet is deeply inspired by this man who brought 30 gallons of frosting on the bus
We don't know who he is. We don't know what his secrets are. But we do know that he is a hero among
...[详细]You can make your Samsung Galaxy S8 transparent, but there's a catch
When it comes to the gadgets we use the most, sometimes a little extra transparency can go a long wa
...[详细]When Honda revealed its stunning and grandparent-scaring Civic Hatchback Prototype earlier this year
...[详细]'Superstars of STEM' want to engage more women in science and here's how
Superstars of STEMis a new program by Science and Technology Australia that aims to smash the stereo
...[详细]Nature to greet People's Climate March with record heat
For the second time in a week, activists will take to the streets of Washington, D.C., and hundreds
...[详细]NASA doesn't have replacements for its aging spacesuits
NASA may be running out of spacesuits. According to a new report from the space agency's Office of I
...[详细]Major earthquake and multiple aftershocks rock central Italy
UPDATE: Aug. 25, 2016, 8:22 a.m. BST 。 Death toll is now at least 247 dead: 190 in Rieti province and
...[详细]'Superstars of STEM' want to engage more women in science and here's how
Superstars of STEMis a new program by Science and Technology Australia that aims to smash the stereo
...[详细]Major earthquake and multiple aftershocks rock central Italy
'47 Meters Down' is the Mandy Moore shark movie we didn't know we wanted
