US multinational technology company Google has stopped distributing advertisements in China for two websites that review anti-censorship software, in a move that critics consider signals the US tech giant’s efforts to curry favour with Beijing. Foreign businesses and visitors to China, as well as local citizens, rely on VPNs, Virtual Private Networks, to access the global internet. Platforms, such as Google and Facebook, are examples of sites currently blocked by China’s “Great Firewall” of internet controls. However, VPNMentor, a company that reviews virtual private network services that allow users to bypass China’s internet controls and avoid surveillance, and other review site Top10VPN, said that Google had refused to sell its adverts to Chinese users. Google previously closed its China search engine in 2010 after suffering cyber-attacks and periodic blocks from the government. The company announced that it was no longer willing to censor search results, devastating its relationship with Beijing at the time. Google said its decision to block VPNMentor’s adverts was “completely unrelated” to trying to re-enter China.

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Financial Times