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   India leads the 10 countries restricting internet access in 2025   
      
   Date:   
   Thu, 03 Jul 2025 15:56:20 +0000   
      
   Description:   
   Surfshark found internet restrictions rose in early 2025 compared to the same   
   period last year.   
      
   FULL STORY   
      
   Government-imposed internet restrictions have risen in the first half of    
   2025, compared to the same period last year. New research from Surfshark   
   identified 10 countries imposed 24 internet restrictions to date this year,    
   up from 20 restrictions across nine countries that occurred in the same    
   period in 2024.    
      
   Specifically, statistics from Surfshark indicate that internet users in India   
   faced more restrictions than any other country between January and June 2025.   
   Authorities in India have used Section 5 (2) of the Telegraph Act, 1885, to   
   cut internet access in the event of a public emergency. Five shutdowns   
   occurred in India in the first half of 2025 amid country-wide protests.    
      
   Surfshark (a VPN provider) has been charting internet shutdowns since 2015.   
   Disruptions range from full internet blackouts to censorship of specific   
   social media platforms like Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) to VoIP services   
   such as Telegram and WhatsApp.   
      
   Protests and political turmoil are common causes of restrictions   
      
   "Over the years, governments have used internet shutdowns to control and   
   silence journalists, activists, and the public," said Justas Pukys, VPN   
   Product Manager at Surfshark.    
      
    Statistics show that local network connection disruptions, which affect a   
   city or region, are more common than national shutdowns. To date, Surfshark   
   has recorded 558 local disruptions worldwide compared to 124 nationwide   
   shutdowns, with protests and political turmoil being the most common causes,   
   followed by elections.    
      
   At the time of writing, 24 of 196 countries and territories analyzed by   
   Surfshark are blocking social media platforms and VoIP services with Telegram   
   being the most commonly blocked.    
      
   In January 2025, Telegram was blocked in Venezuela for five days, with   
   authorities even looking to block popular VPN providers as citizens attempted   
   to bypass the disruption. More recently in May 2025, Vietnam blocked access    
   to Telegram with authorities claiming the platform had failed to cooperate   
   with them to halt crimes.    
      
   During the first half of 2025, two countries imposed restrictions for the   
   first time since Surfsharks internet shutdown tracking began. Albania issued    
   a one-year ban on short-form video platform TikTok, citing child safety   
   concerns. Authorities in Panama announced a state of emergency due to civil   
   unrest in Bocas del Toro, resulting in a regional internet shutdown .   
      
   Rising censorship mirrors growing VPN usage   
      
   Surfshark observes that Iran has had three internet restrictions to date this   
   year.    
      
   Its no coincidence then that VPN usage in the country spiked more than 700%    
   in June 2025 as citizens looked to access the internet as normal. This is   
   despite concerted efforts from Irans government to block and even outlaw VPNs   
   altogether.   
      
   "Internet blackouts can be dangerous, especially during critical events such   
   as elections, protests, or other political turmoil. Losing internet access   
   makes it harder to stay in touch with family members, access critical news   
   outlets, and share urgent information with the world about unfolding events,"   
   said Pukys.    
      
   A virtual private network (VPN) takes your devices internet traffic and    
   routes it through a secure, encrypted tunnel. It also hides your real IP   
   address , allowing you to spoof your location. This means that you can not   
   only sidestep internet restrictions, but prevent snoopers from seeing what   
   youre doing on the internet.   
      
   ======================================================================   
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/india-leads-the-10-countrie   
   s-restricting-internet-access-in-2025   
      
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