Watchdog Raises Concerns Over VPNs With Hidden Ties to China

The VPNs are available to download on Apple and Google app stores, the Technology Transparency Project found.

A man uses a computer, in this file photograph taken in Dongguan, Guangdong Province, China, on Aug. 4, 2020. Nicolas Asfouri/AFP via Getty Images

Apple and Google app stores are still offering Americans virtual private networks, or VPNs, with undisclosed ties to Chinese companies, despite “serious privacy and security concerns” that user data could be shared with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), a tech watchdog group said on June 12.

VPNs encrypt data, allowing individuals to surf the web anonymously.