Two popular VPN services were forced offline in China earlier this month leaving their users, which included professionals who require access to the global internet for work, without an alternative. Today’s news is the latest in a series of developments against the free internet from China. ExpressVPN strongly condemns these measures, which threaten free speech and civil liberties,” ExpressVPN wrote on its blog. “We’re disappointed in this development, as it represents the most drastic measure the Chinese government has taken to block the use of VPNs to date, and we are troubled to see Apple aiding China’s censorship efforts.
That appears to be why Apple was forced to remove ExpressVPN and others like it.Īpple may believe it is best for its business to co-operate with requests from Beijing, but this App Store purge just created one of the biggest setbacks for the free internet in China’s history. The Chinese government effectively illegalized VPNs when new rules issued in January required them to receive government approval in order to operate. The App Store purge is hugely impactful because VPNs represent the only way that a China-based individual can bypass state censorship controls to access the internet without restrictions. In a statement issued later it said it was “required” to remove the apps because they violate Chinese law.ĮxpressVPN shared a note from Apple notifying it of the removal of its app in China Another provide, Star VPN, tweeted that its app had also been removed.Īpple had not replied for comment at the time of writing.
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