On Thu, Apr 29, 2021 at 1:55 PM Bradley Huffaker <bhuffake@caida.org> wrote:
Censorship does not need to be complete to be highly effective. Almost all regulation, drugs/speeding/etc, is designed to increase the cost to the point were “most” individuals are discouraged. While VPNs can be used to bypass China’s Great Firewall the added friction is enough to keep most happily engaged with easer distractions.
I'm glad someone noted this... I'd also say that it seems to me that the restrictions are a LOT like 'seatbelt laws' in the US, where most states enforce as a secondary action: "Oh you were speeding AND you aren't wearing a seat belt, bonus fine" (note: I'm a seatbelt user, just using this as an example) and that the censorship COULD be used as a further action for repressing folk: "Oh, you came to our attention for <free speech|having a sign|walking around at night aimless| selling a single cigarette>, oh and you're using a VPN to get around #dearleader'srestrictions?? max fine"
https://fsi.stanford.edu/news/china%E2%80%99s-great-firewall-built-friction-...
On Apr 29, 2021, at 9:31 AM, Sabri Berisha <sabri@cluecentral.net> wrote:
----- On Apr 28, 2021, at 11:32 AM, Eric Kuhnke <eric.kuhnke@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi,
There's plenty of non technical teenagers in Pakistan with VPN clients on their phone or laptop who seem perfectly capable of using a VPN to watch Youtube or access Twitter and other social media, during the periods of time that the government orders things to be blocked.
Even my third-grader was able to figure out that she needed a VPN when I blocked Roblox's IP space (128.116.0.0/17) on my home router.
Other than, as reports said, soldiers snipping cables in datacenters, regimes will have a difficult time completely blocking whatever they don't like. Even China can't do it.
Thanks,
Sabri