20th March 2023 – (Hong Kong) Last week, OpenAI launched its latest language model, ChatGPT-4, which Microsoft subsequently announced would be integrated into its New Bing platform for user use. However, some internet users in Hong Kong have reported encountering error codes when using Bing Chat, leading to suspicions that Microsoft may have blocked access for certain regions. To access New Bing, users may need to use a virtual private network (VPN) to bypass the restrictions.
According to a post on Reddit last week, some users attempting to use the Bing Chat feature on New Bing encountered error code E010006, preventing them from continuing to use the service or placing them back on the waitlist. Many Hong Kong users responded to the post, indicating that they had encountered the same problem, leading to speculation that New Bing does not yet support Hong Kong. One user from Beijing commented that VPN and Chrome extensions were necessary to connect to New Bing, as otherwise they would be redirected to bing.cn. This suggests that both Hong Kong and Chinese users are subject to Bing’s censorship policies.
However, on 19th March, Keith Li King–wah, co-founder and CEO of Hong Kong home-grown mobile application developer Innopage, shared a method on Facebook to help Hong Kong Bing Chat users who have been placed again under the waitlist by Microsoft. According to Li, users must first activate a VPN and connect to the United States. Next, they must remove all existing accounts from the Bing App, register a new account, select the United States as their region, and then click “Join Waitlist” after logging in. This should solve the problem immediately.