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posted by martyb on Tuesday September 19 2017, @11:28AM   Printer-friendly
from the what-about-the-ones-you-did-NOT-catch? dept.

Chinese authorities have detained a software developer for selling computer services that allow internet users to evade China's "Great Firewall," which blocks access to thousands of websites, from Facebook to Twitter to some news outlets, a media report said Monday.

The software developer, who is from the coastal province of Jiangsu, near Shanghai, was arrested in late August and held for three days for building a small business to sell virtual private networks, the Global Times newspaper reported, citing the official Xinhua news agency. VPNs create encrypted links between computers and allow Chinese web users to see blocked sites by hiding the address from government filters.

Subscribers paid 10 yuan, or about $1.50, for one month of the developer's service. Authorities also seized the developer's earnings, which totaled 1,080 yuan, or about $165.

Some internet businessmen have faced far harsher punishments: Earlier this year, a 26-year-old entrepreneur who sold VPN services in Dongguan, near Hong Kong, was sentenced to nine months in prison.

How far away from having this happen in the West are we, really?


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 19 2017, @01:58PM (4 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 19 2017, @01:58PM (#570181)

    i wish i was employed. Also not defending anyone.

    It is wrong of Chinese government to do such things, but since they are a vile, hierarchical and oppressive organisation, as any government is, they will continue with their bullshit.

    It is probably lack of coffee, that made me express my thoughts on the subject so badly. For that, i apologize. My overall point was that relying on third party to magically grant you access through enemy firewall is not a good solution for you.

    In my opinion, the best solution is to find some flaw in enemy systems, and use it quietly, in a way that is not attributable to your IRL personality. Otherwise you are placing trust in someone whom you cannot verify, and that is unacceptable.

  • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 19 2017, @02:33PM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 19 2017, @02:33PM (#570190)

    i wish i was employed.

    Well then you're in luck! SoylentNews always has work for untalented losers. Can you code a regex?

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 19 2017, @11:29PM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 19 2017, @11:29PM (#570431)

      Until the other site (from which the original codebase was derived) starts doing Unicode[1], has an I-already-read-that feature, does everything without JavaScript, and Degrades Gracefully, I suggest that you STFU.

      [1] 18 years and still nothing; S/N had Unicode support within 6 months.

      -- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]

      • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Wednesday September 20 2017, @12:58AM (1 child)

        by Phoenix666 (552) on Wednesday September 20 2017, @12:58AM (#570462) Journal

        I'd also add that the guys managing the SN codebase regularly publish what they're working on, which they do for free. They also take community feedback seriously. The slashdot guys get paid, don't give a fuck what their community thinks, and try to force-feed them what nobody wants.

        Take a moment and thank the people of SN who keeps the lights running, the coders and the editors.

        --
        Washington DC delenda est.
        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 20 2017, @03:13AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 20 2017, @03:13AM (#570514)

          You forgot to say "And Fuck Beta"