How to Bypass Internet Restrictions in Internet Censorship Countries
The internet is free for all and you would think that with almost 54% of the world population using the internet, everyone has access to it. That’s not the case as some countries have greatly restricted their citizens’ use of the internet, and have limited their use to some websites only. Social media, news, and blogs are out of bounds in some countries as they try to control the information their citizens get.
They also claim to do this in a bid to preserve national security but such actions limit the activities of the citizenry and can be considered to be a bit too harsh. And so in this article, we would be looking at internet censorship countries and how to bypass such restrictions.
Table of Content
Top 15 Internet Censorship Countries
North Korea
In North Korea, the censorship is as severe as denying some people access to mobile devices. Those who have access to the internet are the military and politicians and even at that, it’s a restricted version of the internet that is available to them. In such a location, where internet availability is difficult to find, it may even be difficult to connect using a VPN.
Interesting Read : What are the Top 10 Websites Only Available in the US
China
In China, access to social media, porn, and even the use of VPNs is blocked and even journalists suffer from penalties if they go against the government in their publications. Members of the Chinese community can suffer prison sentences for posting anything in response to news and so it’s safe to say that life in China as far as the internet is concerned isn’t free.
The great firewall of china is a censorship system that blocks internet connections and keeps the citizens in check. The only part of internet access that isn’t regulated in china is torrenting but because of the heavy censorship, torrenting also suffers.
Eritrea
Even with their small population, the country of Eritrea doesn’t give freedom to internet access to its people. Only about 1% of the population has access to the internet and this percentage of the populace can only access heavily censored dial-up services.
Journalism also suffers here as it isn’t free and fair and any report from journalists that goes against the state is met with severe penalties.
Russia
Russia is very strict when it comes to political media, but is a bit lenient in other areas. Although they completely block out the use of VPNs and torrenting sites, they allow access to social media and porn sites too although not completely. Watching porn is not illegal in Russia, but producing it there is illegal and some porn sites have been blocked.
Access to social media sites isn’t completely blocked too as some sites are open and accessible but not without heavy monitoring from the government.
Belarus
Belarus completely bans porn and censors political media, so no posts or news that goes against the government would be tolerated. The government also has a ban on the use of VPNs, so your VPNs would be blocked if your IP is discovered and detected as coming from a VPN. Some VPNs can still work though such as LimeVPN, and you can have access to some restricted sites if the website owner creates a mirror site and the government doesn’t find out.
Turkmenistan
Just as it is with most countries here, Turkmenistan has heavy blocks on political media and doesn’t accept any journalism that goes against the government. They also block access to social media and porn due to fear of outside influence and tradition. Their laws are however not as severe when it comes to VPN service or torrenting.
Burma
Burma now known as Myanmar is a country in Southeast Asia that blocks all websites that support human rights and seeks to uncover the violations of these rights that go on in the county. They also block any post that goes against the government. All emails, posts, and forms of communications over the web are monitored and those that go against the government are filtered.
The use of the internet in the country is so controlled that even cafes and public internet places have to keep records of users which are to be made available to government agencies if the need arises. Knowing that some citizens would use some tools to bypass these internet restrictions, Myanmar has blocked the use of VPNs in the country to keep everyone in check, and violators are met with severe penalties.
Saudi Arabia
The internet service unit in Saudi Arabia is in charge of maintaining the list of blocked websites which holds over 500 blocked websites so far. They have very tough internet censorship and block out any website, or platform that threatens the country’s beliefs, or goes against Islam, or the government. Social media and instant messaging are also blocked and bloggers need to get licenses before operating in the country.
Iran
Iran is another country that ranks high among internet censorship countries and punishes offenders to its laws on the use of the internet severely. All cybercafé owners and website operators are required to register before indulging in any activity that takes them to the internet. In Iran, many journalists have been imprisoned for crimes of posting against the government or Islam. So by this, everyone in the country is careful about what they post to avoid being punished.
Syria
In Syria, internet users have to log in when using cybercafes and note the time they got in and the time they left. Anyone who uses the internet and is found posting anything that goes against the norm would be said to be endangering the security of the nation and most times gets executed. The internet access of the country gets cut off from time to time and so, they have made it to the list of ‘Enemy of the internet’ by Reporters without borders.
Turkey
Just as it is with most sites, Turkey only bans porn and political media as these go against their religion and government respectively. They however restrict the use of social media and VPNs while torrenting has a free hand there.
Vietnam
Those in Vietnam can have access to websites like yahoo and google as long as the website owners provide the government with names of bloggers using their services. They completely block any sites that advocate for human rights, and those that tongue-lash the government. Journalists are intimidated in a bid to prevent them from reporting everything that happens in the country so it goes beyond just internet restriction but also restrictive journalism.
Tunisia
In Tunisia, the government is more interested in blocking bloggers from uploading posts than it is in preventing general internet use. Less than half of the population has access to the internet, and the majority of those that do get such access in cafes as the cost of internet services in Tunisia is high.
Internet service providers in Tunisia have to report bloggers to the government including all their data. Content is filtered through a central server, and emails are monitored. Those who speak against the government and military are imprisoned.
United Arab Emirates
UAE has serious laws on internet use, and they have also banned the use of VPNs making it difficult to bypass those laid down restrictions. Social media, news, and other websites that are not in favor of the government are heavily controlled and those who try to bypass the restrictions that have been placed can face a jail term.
Oman
In Oman, porn websites are banned and media concerning the government is heavily censored. The use of VPNs is also restricted but torrenting sites are free of any restrictions. So social media users and bloggers are monitored and would be penalized if they go against the government or incite an uprising in the country.
Interesting Read : The Safest Countries Where Torrenting is Legal
How to Bypass Internet Censorship
If you travel to a country with internet censorship, and you wish to get access to the internet and reach out to friends and family via social media, you need a VPN. Not every VPN can bypass the firewalls that have been placed, and you may even get into trouble if you are found using a VPN. So you should use a premium VPN service like LimeVPN.
Using a VPN ensures that your real IP address which has your data like location and type of device used encrypts your data before sending your request to the web. So you can keep your activities private, and also make it seem like you are connected from another location.
LimeVPN not only keeps you anonymous but also heavily encrypts your data as they pass through firewalls unnoticed. Their no logs policy ensures that your data would never be available for anyone even if anything goes wrong. So you are safe either way.
Conclusion
Internet censorship countries make it difficult to be yourself on the internet as there are so many laws guiding your use of the internet. With so much information and entertainment to mention but a few that are available online, it’s a bit depressing if you are used to this freedom and can’t have access to the internet anymore while on a trip.
You don’t have to be miserable next time you go to any of these countries as LimeVPN can help you get over those restrictions. So you can access the internet via a server in a different location, and get full access without giving off your data or activity. By using LimeVPN, you would protect your anonymity, secure your data, and also have access to your favorite sites even in such countries.
Rachael Chapman
A Complete gamer and a Tech Geek. Brings out all her thoughts and love in writing blogs on IOT, software, technology etc
