What China's VPN Ban Means for Internet Users: Quicktake Q&A

China is cracking down on virtual private networks, targeting the most popular way to access websites based outside the country and avoid restrictions. The government ordered the nation’s three state-run phone carriers to enforce a ban on VPNs for individuals and require companies operating on the mainland to register their use of leased web-access lines, people familiar with the matter have said. The new rules will go into effect by February. While the nation has long controlled the version of the internet that most of its citizens see, the latest action plugs holes and advances its goal of asserting “cyber sovereignty” over the web inside its borders.

A VPN is a third-party service that routes web traffic through servers in another country or location to where a person physically is. While they have standard business purposes, such as connecting a traveling employee to the company’s home network, they are also used to avoid geographic restrictions on websites. Before Netflix went global last year, many viewers outside the U.S. turned to VPNs to stream content. In 2014 when Turkey tried to shut off Twitter in the country, users took to VPNs to circumvent the ban.