Popular VPN providers TunnelBear and Private Internet Access have announced their departure from Hong Kong due to concerns about their ability to operate effectively under new Chinese security laws. The pair announced that it will shut down VPN servers located in Hong Kong for fear that Chinese authorities will seize the material under the new rules, compromising their ability to protect customers. It is feared that the ambiguity in the wording of the new national law gives the Chinese state blanket power to suppress Internet activity by Hong Kong citizens, subversive or not, and force ISPs to return user data. Since the announcement of the new laws, many Hong Kong-based internet users have turned to VPN services as a way to escape the prying eyes of the Chinese state, while others struggle to erase digital footprints. that could involve them.
Hong Kong VPN
Although TunnelBear and Private Internet Access do not collect information about their users' browsing activity, they are both concerned that the Chinese state could seize and meddle with the technical infrastructure. The new rules would allow local law enforcement to request VPN servers without the need for an official warrant. "We have a responsibility to our users to ensure that our technical ecosystem is immune to interference," TunnelBear said in a tweet. Meanwhile, Private Internet Access described the new security laws as "imposed by fiat in Hong Kong" and a "to the privacy of our users and all Hong Kong residents" in its latest blog post. Despite the shutdown of the servers located in Hong Kong, residents of the city-state will still be able to access the services of the two providers. Private Internet Access is working to provide a new outbound gateway from Hong Kong, with supporting servers located in neighboring territories, while TunnelBear is doubling down on its presence in Singapore and Japan to compensate. For now, other popular services such as NordVPN will continue to operate VPN servers in Hong Kong, but the situation is constantly evolving and it is possible that these two initial launches could cause a mass exodus in the future.