There is so much going on in this story. npr.org/2021/04/14/986…
Interesting difference in description about who exactly developed this software. Wikipedia calls them “Chinese dissidents in Silicon Valley” who are “Falun Gong practitioners” but on the Ultrareach website they’re just “a small group of Silicon Valley engineers” 🤔
Being closed source is enough of a red flag but its developers (ie: Falun Gong) have access to user logs and it censors certain websites for ideological reasons (because Falun Gong)
Note: positive comments on the wiki are outdated. Per NPR: “An initial security audit of Ultrasurf commissioned by the State Department, however, reflected significant problems with the software, which was still relying on technologies that were considered cutting edge in 2013.”
Also... is it... Spyware?
There is also valid criticism re: the US government funding such tools and “democracy activists” and here’s exhibit A: the US government was previously funding a tool made by Falun Gong.
October 2020 story from NBC: nbcnews.com/news/us-news/d…
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