Page 23 - atoday

A23
TECHNOLOGY Tuesday 24 January 2017

China cracks down on tools

used to get around web filters

GERRY SHIH
Associated Press
BEIJING (AP) — China is
beefing up a campaign
to root out services that
circumvent the govern-
ment’s internet censor-
ship with a 14-month-long
“clean-up” of the internet
industry.
The Ministry of Industry
and Information Technol-
ogy said in a directive that
In this Sept. 9, 2016 file photo, the driverless electric free shuttle it forbids the operation of
Navly drives through a district of Lyon, central France, as part of
an experiment. virtual private networks
Associated Press (VPNs) or leased lines that
allow users and businesses
Paris tests electric to access blocked over-
seas websites without gov-
driverless minibus ernment permission. In this Aug. 16, 2016 photo, attendees walk past a live visualiza-
Between now and March
tion of internet attacks across China during the 4th China Inter-
2018, authorities will en-
to fight pollution force the regulations with net Security Conference (ISC) in Beijing. Associated Press
inspections of cloud-host-
ing and content-delivery
SAMUEL PETREQUIN of innovation, said self-driv- services, an industry that danger to social stabil- distribution networks must
Associated Press ing vehicles “will change has shown signs of “disor- ity. The announcement be licensed with the gov-
PARIS (AP) — In a city hit by the urban landscape in a derly development,” the came weeks after Apple ernment.
chronic pollution and traf- spectacular fashion” within ministry said Sunday. removed apps by The New They must also conduct
fic problems, Paris officials the next 20 years. The new enforcement York Times from its app “self-inspections” for any
are experimenting with a Conceived by the French measures are the latest store in China in response unlawful activity taking
self-driving shuttle linking company Easymile, the steps in the Chinese gov- to a government request. place on their servers,
two train stations in the EZ10 will also be tested ernment’s efforts to ce- To get around the govern- which would include those
French capital. between two main green ment its grip over the do- ment’s filters, numerous for- discreetly providing VPN
Two electric-power EZ10 spaces in southern Paris lat- mestic internet and closely eign and domestic com- services.
minibuses, which can carry er this year. The company control what information panies in China use VPNs A co-founder of U.S.-sup-
up to six seated passen- said fleets of the small shut- may be accessed by the to conduct business, and ported anti-censorship
gers, were put into service tle are already operating in country’s 731 million inter- private citizens often use group Greatfire.org who
Monday and will be tested several countries across the net users. the technology to access goes by the pseudonym
until early April between world including the United President Xi Jinping’s ad- banned foreign websites Charlie Smith said it was
the Lyon and Austerlitz States. ministration has champi- such as Google, Facebook unclear whether the inter-
stations in Paris. The GPS- “Let’s see how people will oned a vision of “internet and overseas news outlets. net services industry would
guided vehicle is free and adopt them, how they will sovereignty” in which gov- In response, China has comply with government
will be running seven days react in a vehicle without a ernments have the right to blocked access to VPNs orders to fully snuff out
a week. driving wheel and no driv- wall off their nation’s cy- and regularly disrupts their VPNs.
“To respond to the pollution er,” Missika said. berspace from unwanted channels. “They will push back, quiet-
emergency in big urban With a commercial speed elements as if it were physi- Wu Xiaodong, director of ly ... if they deem the cost
zones it is urgent to inno- of 15 kph (9 mph), the cal territory. the China Digital Informa- of running these checks to
vate with new transporta- shuttle has been designed The censors’ reach has ex- tion and Security Industrial be too high,” said Smith,
tion systems that are more for public transportation tended beyond websites. Alliance, said VPN services whose group helps internet
environmentally friendly,” to cover short distances. Earlier this month, China’s have previously been tar- users inside China bypass
said Catherine Baratti-El- Equipped with a system top internet regulator said geted by Chinese regula- blockages on censored
baz, head of the local dis- detecting objects, the EZ10 it would begin regulating tors but never with this de- content. “Even the authori-
trict where the test is taking can adjust its trajectory to mobile app store offerings gree of clarity. ties recognize that there
place. avoid obstacles and does after it found apps that Under the new directive, all are legitimate needs for
Jean-Louis Missika, a Paris not need heavy infrastruc- disseminated information internet service providers, VPNs and other circumven-
deputy mayor in charge ture to be operated.q it considered illegal or a data centers and content tion services.”q