[justquest]

The firewall isn't about being impenetrable.

It's about modifying the aggregate opinion of a population - not a specific individual. Politics is about statistics in the sense that you only need x percent of something to accomplish y goal. In other words, only x percentage of people need to think in a certain way to accomplish y goal. This is why, for example, VPNs aren't strictly enforced. Those who need them, get them. But it's such a pain in the ass for a regular person to subscribe to and deploy, that it doesn't matter on the aggregate level for 5% of people to break through.

[vinceguidry]

Right. Also, banning all VPNs would make commerce very difficult. And the Party loves commerce.

I'm sure they'd love to stifle all non-party-endorsed political discussion, but they're in a difficult position which is getting more and more difficult with every year. It will be interesting to see how the situation evolves.