Zalando

Zalando Access Restrictions in China and North Korea: Causes and Workarounds

What Zalando Is

Zalando is a Berlin-based ecommerce platform specializing in fashion, footwear, and sportswear. Founded in 2008 by Robert Gentz and David Schneider, it launched as an online shoe retailer and expanded into a pan-European marketplace. Zalando operates as a standalone public company (listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since 2014) and serves over 40 million active customers across Europe, Australia, and the US. The platform combines a marketplace model with its own inventory, fulfilling orders from warehouses across multiple countries.

Why It's Censored in China

Zalando's restriction in China stems from the country's comprehensive ecommerce control framework. The Chinese government, through the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and the China Internet Information Center (CNNIC), restricts foreign ecommerce platforms that operate outside its regulatory jurisdiction. Foreign retailers lack compliance with China's content approval processes, real-name registration requirements (under the Cybersecurity Law), and mandatory data localization rules. Additionally, platforms like Zalando do not integrate with China's state-approved payment systems—UnionPay, Alipay, and WeChat Pay—making transactions technically difficult. The 2017 Cybersecurity Law and 2020 Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) further tightened restrictions on foreign platforms handling Chinese user data. Access is typically blocked at the Great Firewall level rather than through formal licensing denial.

Why It's Censored in North Korea

North Korea's restriction of Zalando is categorical rather than selective. The country maintains near-total internet isolation through the "Kwangmyong" intranet, which replaces the open internet for most citizens. Foreign ecommerce platforms, including Zalando, are inaccessible to the general population. Access to global ecommerce is restricted to regime-connected elites and special economic zones. This reflects North Korea's broader policy of controlling all foreign commerce and information flows, codified in various regulations enforced by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications. Western commercial platforms are considered vectors for ideological contamination.

Technical Blocking Methods

In China, Zalando is blocked through multiple layers: IP-level filtering (entire IP ranges associated with Zalando's CDN are blacklisted), DNS hijacking (queries to Zalando's domain are redirected or nullified), and Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) systems that identify and throttle HTTPS traffic to known foreign ecommerce domains. The method varies by ISP and region within China; some users report slower speeds before complete blocking.

In North Korea, blocking is less technically sophisticated because internet access itself is restricted. Kwangmyong users cannot reach external domains; international websites require special approval and access through state gateways. The blocking is administrative and infrastructural rather than algorithmic.

User Workarounds

Users in China employ virtual private networks (VPNs) to route traffic through servers outside the Great Firewall, bypassing DNS and IP filtering. Proxy servers and tunnel protocols (both standard and obfuscated variants) are used to mask destination addresses from DPI systems. These workarounds require technical knowledge and carry legal risk under Chinese regulations that penalize unauthorized VPN use (though enforcement remains inconsistent). In North Korea, workarounds are practically nonexistent for average users; only those with access to external networks or special permits can circumvent restrictions.

Alternatives

Users in China typically turn to AliExpress (also restricted but with workarounds), Shein, or domestic platforms like Alibaba and JD.com. Shein operates with partial Chinese regulatory compliance despite international presence, making it less consistently blocked. In North Korea, no meaningful alternatives exist within the censored environment.

Outlook

China's restrictions are tightening, not easing. Recent enforcement of VPN regulations and expanded DPI capabilities suggest further tightening. North Korea shows no signs of liberalizing access. Both countries' trajectories point toward stricter foreign platform control.