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Hong Kong has always been a country that was free and independent. It prided itself on having flexible laws that allowed the business community to thrive. User privacy was always guaranteed, as the city avoided passing any legislation that might allow the government to start surveillance over the population.
Hong Kong’s utmost respect for user privacy went to great lengths when it refused to come under the US demands for capturing Edward Snowden. This safety net allowed him to run to Russia and avoid coming under the wrath of the American government.
For this reason, a lot of people preferred connecting to Hong Kong’s servers when using any VPN service.
However, the situation today is entirely different than what it was only a year ago. The reins of government policies have now been taken over by the Chinese government. The new policies go against the privacy-friendly environment that was previously an integral part of the city’s culture. For this reason, many businesses have started to end their relationship with the city and move their infrastructure to another city / country.
PureVPN Takes Action
PureVPN has always claimed that it’s a no-log VPN brand. It does its utmost to keep user activities private. For this reason, the VPN company has also decided to terminate its Hong Kong servers in a bid to ensure the trust of its users.
In a blog-post statement this week, PureVPN states that it agrees “with the human rights watchdogs and activists that the new National Security Law poses a tremendous threat to users’ Internet security, privacy, and freedom.”
This was followed up by this announcement:
“Bearing in mind our commitment to maintaining the trust of our millions of users across the globe, we have decided to decommission Hong Kong servers from our apps and offerings on July 28 at 00:00 HK local time.”
The VPN company states that it doesn’t see any danger to its user privacy since the service doesn’t store any kind of logs that can be passed on to the government. However, it has taken these steps as a precaution and to maintain the trust of its users.
The company also stated that it understands that a lot of businesses and individuals require connectivity to the Hong Kong servers for multiple reasons. Even though automatic connectivity to the Hong Kong servers has been blocked effectively since July 28, users can continue to manually connect to these servers until September 21 at 23:59 HK Local time.
Next Steps
Moreover, PureVPN will now start ramping up its servers in other Asian countries including Taiwan, Singapore, Japan, and South Korea. This would ensure that users would continue to receive the best in Internet freedom on the web and a lot of options to choose from.
I am James, a UK-based tech enthusiast and the Editor and Owner of Mighty Gadget, which I’ve proudly run since 2007. Passionate about all things technology, my expertise spans from computers and networking to mobile, wearables, and smart home devices.
As a fitness fanatic who loves running and cycling, I also have a keen interest in fitness-related technology, and I take every opportunity to cover this niche on my blog. My diverse interests allow me to bring a unique perspective to tech blogging, merging lifestyle, fitness, and the latest tech trends.
In my academic pursuits, I earned a BSc in Information Systems Design from UCLAN, before advancing my learning with a Master’s Degree in Computing. This advanced study also included Cisco CCNA accreditation, further demonstrating my commitment to understanding and staying ahead of the technology curve.
I’m proud to share that Vuelio has consistently ranked Mighty Gadget as one of the top technology blogs in the UK. With my dedication to technology and drive to share my insights, I aim to continue providing my readers with engaging and informative content.
