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This is probably the largest fine for trying to circumvent state censorship.
In northern China, a programmer was issued a penalty notice worth more than 1 million yuan for using a virtual private network (VPN). This is probably the largest individual financial penalty for circumventing the "Great Firewall of China".
A programmer surnamed Ma received a notification from the Public Security Bureau of Chengde City, Hebei Province, on August 18. According to the notice, Ma used "unauthorized channels" to access international networks in connection with his work for a Turkish company. The police seized 1.058 million yuan (more than 14 million rubles) earned by Ma as a software developer from September 2019 to November 2022, qualifying it as"illegal income".
Ma shared on Weibo that the police first contacted him a year ago, believing that he was the owner of a Twitter account that was under investigation. However, Ma denied any involvement in the account. Subsequently, his publication was deleted, but saved in the archive of China Digital Times.
After the police found out that Ma was working with an overseas company, they confiscated his phone, laptop, and several external drives, holding them for a month. Ma later provided details about his work, banking details, and other information, resulting in a fine.
Charlie Smith (pseudonym), co-founder of the site GreatFire.org, which monitors Internet censorship in China, noted: "Even if this decision is overturned by the court, the message has already been sent, and the damage has been done. Should we now expect fines for businesses outside of China?"
VPN services that provide an opportunity to bypass the "Great Firewall of China" are in a legal gray area in China. However, in recent years, the government has tightened its control over access to such services, and in some cases imposed sanctions for their use.
Discussing the incident on the Zhihu platform, which is often compared to Reddit in China, one user expressed his point of view: "If you start passing sentences and imposing fines for such actions, it can damage the Chinese IT sphere." This comment was later deleted.
The incident has sparked discussions about whether the authorities are targeting profit-making instead of fighting crime. In a deleted post on Weibo, the influencer wrote: "The incident has become the subject of ridicule on the international stage, and the police in a certain place have become synonymous with robbers."
In northern China, a programmer was issued a penalty notice worth more than 1 million yuan for using a virtual private network (VPN). This is probably the largest individual financial penalty for circumventing the "Great Firewall of China".
A programmer surnamed Ma received a notification from the Public Security Bureau of Chengde City, Hebei Province, on August 18. According to the notice, Ma used "unauthorized channels" to access international networks in connection with his work for a Turkish company. The police seized 1.058 million yuan (more than 14 million rubles) earned by Ma as a software developer from September 2019 to November 2022, qualifying it as"illegal income".
Ma shared on Weibo that the police first contacted him a year ago, believing that he was the owner of a Twitter account that was under investigation. However, Ma denied any involvement in the account. Subsequently, his publication was deleted, but saved in the archive of China Digital Times.
After the police found out that Ma was working with an overseas company, they confiscated his phone, laptop, and several external drives, holding them for a month. Ma later provided details about his work, banking details, and other information, resulting in a fine.
Charlie Smith (pseudonym), co-founder of the site GreatFire.org, which monitors Internet censorship in China, noted: "Even if this decision is overturned by the court, the message has already been sent, and the damage has been done. Should we now expect fines for businesses outside of China?"
VPN services that provide an opportunity to bypass the "Great Firewall of China" are in a legal gray area in China. However, in recent years, the government has tightened its control over access to such services, and in some cases imposed sanctions for their use.
Discussing the incident on the Zhihu platform, which is often compared to Reddit in China, one user expressed his point of view: "If you start passing sentences and imposing fines for such actions, it can damage the Chinese IT sphere." This comment was later deleted.
The incident has sparked discussions about whether the authorities are targeting profit-making instead of fighting crime. In a deleted post on Weibo, the influencer wrote: "The incident has become the subject of ridicule on the international stage, and the police in a certain place have become synonymous with robbers."
