China Eyes VPN Ban; Wednesday Set as Net Neutrality Day of Action

Posted July 11th, 2017 at 12:30 pm (UTC-4)
1 comment

Today’s Tech Sightings:

FILE - Computer users sit near a monitor display with a message from the Chinese police on the proper use of the Internet at an Internet cafe in Beijing, China. (AP)

FILE – Computer users sit near a monitor display with a message from the Chinese police on the proper use of the Internet at an Internet cafe in Beijing, China. (AP)

China Will Block All VPNs by February 2018

The Chinese government has notified internet carriers that they have until February 1, 2018 to block all Virtual Private Networks (VPN) connections and shut down unauthorized VPN operators. Thanks to the country’s Great Firewall, a lot of internet services, including Western social media networks like Facebook and Twitter, are only accessible through these networks, and Beijing has been trying to block them for years.

Pew Study Says 41 Percent of US Adults Have Been Harassed Online

A new study from the Pew Research Center reports that 41 percent of U.S. adults have experienced online harassment. As many as 66 percent said they saw it happen to others. The most common type of online harassment is offensive name-calling. While women are more likely to experience online sexual harassment, men were more likely to be harassed online, according to the study.

‘First Amendment of the internet’: What Is Net Neutrality and Why Is It at Risk?

U.S. tech giants have called for a day on action on Wednesday, July 12 to express opposition to government plans to roll back net neutrality rules the Obama administration put in place. One week is left for people to voice their concerns before the changes take effect. Net neutrality rules prevent internet service providers from picking and choosing who should pay more or less and discourages the sale of personal user data without permission. Writer Olivia Solon explains net neutrality and the reasons why it is at issue.

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Aida Akl
Aida Akl is a journalist working on VOA's English Webdesk. She has written on a wide range of topics, although her more recent contributions have focused on technology. She has covered both domestic and international events since the mid-1980s as a VOA reporter and international broadcaster.

One response to “China Eyes VPN Ban; Wednesday Set as Net Neutrality Day of Action”

  1. ernieR says:

    there are two kinds of movements going on in the world atm, the first being what usa and the rest of the first world is doing, invading privacy of users which is better than the second kind where the government itself is banning vpns and still keeping an eye on its citizens. at least in the first kind, users are allowed to use a vpn like ivacy or express to get around these issues.

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