BEIJING/SHANGHAI
(Reuters) - A Chinese partner of global e-commerce firm Amazon.com Inc has told
customers to end the use of illegal virtual private networks
(VPNs), which can
allow users to circumvent internet censorship.
The
instruction comes after Apple Inc removed VPN services from its Chinese app
store over the weekend, amid a government crackdown against their use to bypass
the so-called "Great Firewall", which restricts access to overseas
websites.
In January,
the government passed laws banning all VPNs not approved by regulators. Its
stance is that rules governing cyberspace should mimic real-world border
controls and that the internet should be subject to the same laws as sovereign
states.
"If we
discover (clients using unapproved VPNs), we will shut down services,"
said a member of staff at Beijing Sinnet Technology Co Ltd, which operates
Amazon's cloud business, Amazon Web Services (AWS), in China.
"This
is in accordance with directives from the Ministry of Industry and Information
Technology (MIIT)," said the person, referring to the regulator that
oversees VPN use. "We have asked clients to check all illegal cross-border
businesses."
The person
was not authorized to speak to the media and so asked not to be identified. A
member of staff at AWS, also on condition of anonymity, likewise said
directives had come from the MIIT.
The MIIT did
not respond to requests for comment.
Amazon did
not respond to Reuters' requests for comment outside of U.S. business hours,
but the firm told the Wall Street Journal that Sinnet was "responsible for
ensuring that its customers in China comply with local laws".
"Their
notice was intended to remind customers of their obligations," an Amazon
spokeswoman told the newspaper.
The
government has shut down dozens of China-based VPN providers and has been
targeting overseas services as it tightens control over the internet, ahead of
a Communist Party congress later this year.
The MIIT has
also requested Internet network providers to high-end hotel chains - rare
locations where users could access otherwise blocked sites - to stop
recommending and helping install VPNs.
Apple's
Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook, talking to analysts about removing VPNs from
its China app store, said the iPhone maker was complying with local laws,
irrespective of whether it agreed with them.
"We
would obviously rather not remove the apps, but like we do in other countries
we follow the law wherever we do business," he said after Apple reported
its earnings results on Tuesday.
"We're
hopeful that over time the restrictions we're seeing are lessened, because
innovation really requires freedom to collaborate and communicate."
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