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   Afghanistan completely shuts down the internet  and not even VPNs can help   
      
   Date:   
   Wed, 01 Oct 2025 09:20:19 +0000   
      
   Description:   
   Taliban authorities cut internet connections to "prevent immorality,"   
   impacting "every aspect of peoples rights and lives," warn experts. Here's   
   what's at stake.   
      
   FULL STORY   
      
   Afghans are currently living in digital darkness as Taliban authorities cut   
   citizens off from the rest of the world in a bid to "prevent immorality."    
      
   Internet watchdog NetBlocks began tracking a deterioration of internet   
   connectivity levels since early September. On September 25, experts recorded    
   a pattern of curfew-style internet shutdowns across some regions of the   
   country. Everything collapsed on Monday (September 29) when the country fell   
   into a total communication blackout as both internet and telephone services   
   stopped working.    
      
   While the best VPN services can generally help people to bypass   
   government-imposed restrictions and get back online, they need a live    
   internet connection to work. This makes Afghanistan's internet shutdown even   
   more disruptive for citizens.    
      
   According to #KeepItOn Global Campaign Manager at Access Now, Felicia   
   Anthonio, the Taliban's move comes rather as an attempt to tighten their   
   control over information flow, silence dissent, and shield human rights    
   abuses from public scrutiny.    
      
   "With so many restrictions already in place, this shutdown takes away the    
   last remaining lifelines connecting the people of Afghanistan to the outside   
   world," Anthonio told TechRadar.   
      
   The toll of Afghanistan's internet shutdown   
      
   As NetBlocks and Cloudflare Radars measurements show, all web and DNS traffic   
   dropped to zero after the cutoff at a national level. IP address   
   announcements, a system that provides internet services by linking groups of   
   servers, also fell by two-thirds within the first twenty minutes of the   
   blackout.    
      
   Beyond these technicalities, in practical terms, this means that most    
   citizens are unable to get online.    
      
   Mix the internet shutdown with the ongoing telecoms blackout, and you have    
   the perfect recipe to prevent all Aghans from communicating with anyone  both   
   in and out of the country.    
      
   "The little information emerging from Afghanistan shows that the internet   
   blackout is having a profound impact on every aspect of peoples rights and   
   lives," Anthonio confirmed to TechRadar.    
      
   Fear and panic are fueling concerns among concerned citizens who cannot reach   
   out to their loved ones. From education, health, and employment to travel and   
   e-commerce, people also struggle to access essential services.    
      
   Internet access is anything but a luxury.    
      
   "For millions in Afghanistan, it is a lifeline," Anthonio told TechRadar.    
   "For women, girls, journalists, and marginalized communities, already pushed   
   to the margins by Taliban policies, connectivity is often the only way to   
   participate in society."   
      
   Beyond VPNs    
      
   Every time governments enforce online restrictions, people turn to   
   circumventing tools like virtual private network (VPN) apps to spoof their IP   
   address and grant access to blocked content.    
      
   This time, however, it's the whole internet that is in the dark. Hence, VPNs   
   cannot do the trick, leaving Afghans with very limited resources to keep the   
   information flow going.    
      
   According to Proton VPN 's General Manager, David Peterson, the last time    
   that such a nationwide internet blackout occurred was in mid-June in Iran,   
   lasting for three days. During most internet restriction events, Proton VPN   
   users are still able to tunnel through to the outside world. But not when the   
   internet is totally unplugged.   
      
   Anthonio explains that satellite connectivity offered by Starlink and similar   
   services is becoming a common alternative for people and communities facing   
   internet blackouts.    
      
   There's just one problem  pricing and availability are still a barrier for   
   most people experiencing the aftermath of an internet shutdown.    
      
   This has then brought people to use foreign SIM cards or satellite phones   
   instead. Yet, this method comes with a cost for Afghans, and it's not about   
   money.    
      
   "The Taliban has shown willingness to retaliate against those who defy their   
   orders," explains Anthonio.    
      
   What's needed right now, according to Anthonio, is for the international   
   community to step in support of the rights group demanding an end to the   
   violation of peoples rights in Afghanistan.    
      
   While the Afghanistan situation is particularly dire, the Taliban is far from   
   being the only government disrupting the internet to push forward a political   
   agenda.    
      
   Commenting on this point, Anthonio said: "Sadly, this move follows a familiar   
   pattern in the authoritarian playbook, where authorities are increasingly   
   normalizing the use of internet shutdowns to deny people their human rights."   
      
   ======================================================================   
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/afghanistan-completely-shut   
   s-down-the-internet-and-not-even-vpns-can-help   
      
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