China Steps Up VPN Blocks Ahead of Major Trade, Internet Shows

China Steps Up VPN Blocks Ahead of Major Trade, Internet Shows
A laptop screen shows the word "VPN" written in the search field of the Chinese Baidu website in Beijing on March 30, 2018. Fred Dufour/AFP/Getty Images
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HONG KONG—Chinese authorities have stepped up efforts to block virtual private networks (VPN), service providers said on Oct. 30 in describing a “cat and mouse” game with censors ahead of a major trade expo and internet conference.

VPNs allow internet users in China, including foreign companies, to access overseas sites that authorities bar through the so-called Great Firewall, such as Facebook Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google.