China has moved to block all virtual private networks (VPNs) by next year, according to a report from Bloomberg, in what would mark a significant crackdown on citizens’ access to the open web.

Citing sources familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reports that the Chinese government ordered state-run telecoms to begin blocking VPNs by February 1st. Earlier this year, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced that all VPN services would need to obtain government approval, as part of a “cleanup” of unauthorized internet connections.

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