China strengthens Great Firewall ahead of anniversary

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    Date: 
    1 October 2009

    The Chinese government has used its unrivalled net censorship apparatus to attack parts of the Tor network ahead of the 60th anniversary of communist rule, according to activists.

    The Tor Project Inc, the non-profit that oversees development of the network, said China's Great Firewall began blocking IP addresses on Friday. The news follows an update last week to blocking technology used by ISPs, known as "Blue Shield".

    "We knew this day would come," the Tor Project said.

    Tor - originally developed for the US Navy - is used by many Chinese dissidents to conceal their identity and protect their privacy. It allows them to access banned material such as websites about Tibet, the Tiananmen Square Massacre and the recent Uigur uprising.

    The Tor network was also recently widely used in Iran to disseminate information about violent clashes following the presidential election.