Warning about 'VPN users in China risking death sentence' is fabricated

A screenshot of the purported announcement, titled "Civilised web surfing, reject VPNs", was shared in an X post on December 21, 2024.

China has some of the world's most extensive internet censorship rules, with web users unable to access many foreign websites and apps without workarounds such as a VPN (archived link).

The use of a VPN without government authorisation is illegal in the country, as is using the software to access blocked websites (archived link). State media workers and diplomats, however, are allowed to access prohibited websites such as X.

The simplified Chinese text on the purported announcement reads: "Those who violate regulations and use VPN software to circumvent the firewall could face a maximum penalty of death."

It was supposedly issued by "The Information Security Technology Bureau of the People's Republic of China" and "The National Cyber Security Office of the People's Republic of China".

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Screenshot of the false X post, captured on December 25, 2024

The purported announcement was also shared elsewhere on X, as well as on Threads and Facebook.

But keyword searches did not turn up any results for Chinese government departments called either "The Information Security Technology Bureau" or "The National Cyber Security Office".

A reverse image search of the emblem used in the purported announcement also found it is in fact used by China's police force, which is under the Ministry of Public Security.

Below is a screenshot comparison between the emblem as used in the false posts (left) and the same emblem used by the police, as shown on their official website (right):

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Screenshot comparison between the emblem as used in the false posts (left) and the same emblem used by the police, as shown on their official website (right)

A search for the purported announcement or similar warnings about VPNs by the Cyberspace Administration of China, the country's internet watchdog, on its official website and Weibo account yielded no results (archived link).

According to rules issued by China's State Council in 1996, the use of unauthorised channels for "international networking" can be punished with a fine of up to 15,000 yuan ($2,050) (archived link).

Any "illegal income" gained can also be confiscated, the rules state.

Authorities generally tolerate the use of VPNs for business purposes, but occasionally conduct a crackdown.

Hong Kong's Economic Times newspaper reported that officials in Shaanxi province fined a man 500 yuan for the unauthorised use of a VPN in May 2020,  (archived link).

And the Guardian newspaper reported that a programmer in Hebei province was ordered to pay more than 1 million yuan to authorities for using a VPN to work for a Turkish company between September 2019 and November 2022 (archived link).

The report said he had been fined 200 yuan, and police confiscated 1.058 million yuan that they described as "illegal income".

In one of the most severe sentences for helping users evade the severe restrictions on China's internet, a VPN seller in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region was sentenced to five and a half years in prison in December 2017 (archived link). Prosecutors said he had "illegally profited" from setting up VPN servers and selling software "without obtaining relevant business licenses".

The sentence came after authorities announced earlier in the year that it would ban the use of unlicensed providers of VPN services (archived link).