Should we kiss our usage of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other blocked sites and apps goodbye? Many tech experts dismissed the idea of such widespread Internet inhibition when reports of a pending ban on VPNs made the round earlier this month. However, some of those skeptics are now feeling less assured, after major VPN apps were removed from the Chinese App Store this past weekend.



Apps for popular VPNs – which allow users to circumvent China's "Great Firewall" and access blocked sites, apps, and platforms – like ExpressVPN and Golden Frog VyprVPN were no longer available for download at press time. A new article on TechPapa quotes a statement on ExpressVPN's website that says: "We received notification from Apple today, July 29, 2017, at roughly 04:00 GMT, that the ExpressVPN iOS app was removed from the China App Store. Our preliminary research indicates that all major VPN apps for iOS have been removed."



Meanwhile, Astrill, one of the most popular VPNs, was still available in the store but was strangely missing its usual silver star logo, leaving some to wonder if it was a knockoff (spokespeople for Astrill did not respond to our requests for comment before press time). Other available apps appear to be made by Chinese developers.



A spokesperson and investor at a proxy provider (the same source who spoke to the Beijinger anonymously when chatter about VPNs hit its peak in early July) has a blunt assessment of the situation: "Apple is kissing ass, so that they can protect their revenue stream in China," before adding, "Apple removed pretty much all apps with some form of VPN tech from the app store on behalf of the government." Spokespeople for Apple did not respond to our requests for comment before press time.



Granted, most savvy Internet users on the mainland already have VPNs installed on their devices, meaning the crackdown on the app store amount to too little too late. And anyone without a VPN can still find ways around this predicament – from using Android (because this crackdown extends to Apple's App store only), or using a new Apple ID to access a different country on the App Store.



A more pressing issue, however, might lie with the matter of updates. There is concern within the tech community that users who acquired their VPNs via the Chinese app store will likely no longer be able to get bug fixes and upgrades thanks to the App Store's purge. However, many users should be able to get around this issue by deleting the app and then using a different country's App Store (as described above).



Aside from these usage issues, many mainland techies are all the more worried about the precedent set by these latest developments, and how it bodes for future Internet freedom.



"People who had the app before or people with the ability to switch and download from non-Chinese app stores are not affected," the anonymous proxy source says, before elaborating on a far more grave aspect: "Switching is a pain and only possible with foreign credit cards, which most Chinese won't have. I mean, it is possible to change stores without a credit card, but that only goes for free apps. The apps that support our proxy are not free."



Noted tech commentator Matthew Brennan went on to cite even broader concerns. While he has spoken to many experts who insist a complete block of VPNs is impossible – because plenty of talented programmers will always find ways to circumvent such hurdles – the authorities' greater aggression can't be dismissed outright.



"Their goal is to make it so it's impossible to use non-government authorized VPNs," Brennan says. "On a technical level, several people have told me that's impossible. But I see it as this: All they really need to achieve is making it very troublesome for normal, non-technical people to use VPN services and they will effectively achieve their goal."



Our anonymous proxy source said that he was all the more troubled by chatter about a VPN user in Shenzhen who was apparently ordered by the police to admit to wrongdoing and sign several documents promising he would comply with China's online rules and regulations. He admits this story is unverifiable, saying: "I read about it on underground message boards, it might just be rumors spread by the government." Nevertheless, it's the first time he's heard of extreme circumstances in all the time that he has worked in this field. "This is something more than normal, where they just step up filtering in the GFW and slow down all VPNs," which leads him to think that "something is brewing."



Additional reporting by Andy Peñafuerte



Images: Golden Frog, Apple Store







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