Published on January 21, 2026

As huge news stories break across the world this year, the need for VPNs has become even clearer.

When people feel threatened, they want to know what is going on, and they turn to the internet. When governments prevent them from doing this — as is sadly far too common — they turn to VPNs to bypass censorship.

As one of the world’s most popular VPN services, Proton has unique insight into world events as they are happening. Here’s what we’ve already seen this year in 2026:

• In Iran, the government has imposed a complete internet shutdown as mass protests convulse the country. Personal accounts trickling out suggest that Tehran is waging a brutal crackdown. Before the blackout, Proton recorded a 1,000% increase in VPN sign-ups.
• In Venezuela, after the US military launched strikes(new window) and captured President Nicolás Maduro on January 3, Proton recorded a 770% jump in VPN sign-ups from people inside that country.
• In Uganda, days before a national election in which the president is seeking a seventh term, the government blocked all internet access(new window) to prevent opposition. Proton VPN recorded a 3,000% increase in VPN sign-ups after access was restored following election day (although social media platforms remain blocked).
• In Egypt, social media users have reported that Discord, a popular communication platform, has been blocked by several internet service providers. Discord users said they have encountered connection failures and “stuck on loading” screens, which are signs of a government-level block, but there has been no government confirmation of a shutdown. Proton recorded a 320% increase in VPN sign-ups above normal levels.

At Proton, we publicly document the most striking VPN trends around the world in our Proton VPN Observatory. As we continue to chart this year’s news events, we wanted to use this article to unpack the top 10 internet censorship moments of 2025.

1. Iran

June 13 marked escalating hostilities between Iran and Israel, as exchanges of strikes and counter-strikes intensified across the region in what is now known as the Iran–Israel (or Twelve Days) War(new window). Defending the action as necessary for national security during wartime conditions, the Iranian government implemented a near-total internet blackout(new window) starting June 18.

For most people, access to international websites, social media, messaging services, and VPN servers (including ours) vanished. This wasn’t simply a throttling or slowdown; the government’s actions effectively severed all international connections. Only limited access to Iran’s National Information Network (a domestic intranet) and government-approved local services continued.

Starting on the morning of the 21st, limited bandwidth returned, but the network remained heavily throttled so that only essential services like banking and government portals were reachable.

VPN traffic stayed at a fraction of pre‑blackout levels until normal (that is, heavily censored) internet access was restored to the country after, under US pressure, Israel and Iran agreed to a ceasefire on June 24. By June 26, Proton VPN sign-ups had jumped 5,500% as Iranians desperate for international news downloaded our apps.

2. Tanzania

Tanzania held a general election on October 29, where the two main opposition candidates (effectively the only credible challengers to the incumbent ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi party) were barred from the ballot.

Protests erupted in several cities (during which security forces used lethal force(new window) that resulted in numerous deaths and injuries), prompting a surge in VPN use as Tanzanian citizens bypassed government attempts to censor internet and social media access.

In a dramatic display of what increasingly seems to be the new normal, the government responded by completely shutting down the internet for five days(new window). As internet access was restored, VPN sign-ups spiked at 2,000%.

3. Afghanistan

Citing concerns about “immorality,” the Taliban, Afghanistan’s de facto government, on September 29 implemented a 24-hour total internet blackout(new window) that affected around 30% of the population.

This move followed a Taliban campaign to remove books written by women(new window) from the country’s university teaching system and to restrict women and girls from getting an education beyond the age of 12. In response to this, some women had turned to online learning.

After the blackout was lifted, access to platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and X continued to be restricted across various parts of the country. During this period, Proton VPN saw sign-ups soar by a staggering 35,000% as Afghan citizens sought to contact the outside world.

Disruptions continued throughout October and beyond (including another total internet blackout on October 14), and Proton VPN continues to see high levels of sign-ups from the country.

4. Papua New Guinea

On March 25, 2025, the Papua New Guinea government abruptly shut down access to Facebook(new window) as part of a “test” of its capacity to curb misinformation, hate speech, pornography, and other harmful content during a national emergency.

However, the shutdown also coincided with a corruption trial for which Prime Minister James Marape was giving evidence in court. Critics and opposition members pointed to this timing as evidence that the shutdown was intended to suppress real-time commentary on the Prime Minister’s testimony.

Facebook is a primary way many PNG residents stay connected to the broader internet, so the abrupt loss of the service prompted a surge in Proton VPN sign-ups (over 14,000%) on March 25.

5. Togo

In the wake of extensive constitutional changes in 2024, reforms that removed presidential term limits were introduced in June 2025, effectively allowing President Faure Gnassingbé to stay in power indefinitely. This move was widely seen as entrenching the power of Togo’s political elites. Spring and early summer were marked by the death of at least seven anti-government protesters, numerous political arrests, and a three-month suspension(new window) of French broadcasters RFI and France 24.

Grassroots opposition coalesced in the youth-led June 6 Movement(new window), and amid increased calls for civic disobedience, violent clashes broke out between protesters and security forces in several parts of Togo’s capital, Lomé, on June 26. This date coincides with a 12,000% jump in Proton VPN sign-ups from Togolese citizens desperate for objective reports about the situation.

These protests were met with strong repression(new window) by security forces, leading to deaths, injuries, and numerous arrests. The government also issued arrest warrants for movement leaders, including artists and activists, accusing them of attempting to destabilize the country.

Activists have continued to agitate against the government. The response has been heavy-handed, and VPN sign-ups from Togo remain high.

6. Nepal

On September 4, Nepal’s government blocked access to 26 major social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, X, YouTube, LinkedIn, Reddit, Discord, Signal, and Pinterest. The move followed a Supreme Court and Cabinet directive requiring all platforms operating in Nepal to register locally, appoint local compliance and grievance officers, and meet regulatory conditions.

The restrictions triggered widespread outrage(new window), especially among young people and digital natives who rely on these platforms for communication, work, business, education, and community events. Demonstrations (quickly dubbed the “Gen Z protests”) drew tens of thousands of participants.

These protests culminated in Kathmandu on September 8, when security forces used lethal force to disperse the crowds, resulting in at least 19 dead and hundreds injured. With violence spreading across the capital and other cities, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli announced his resignation on September 9, and the social media ban was lifted on September 10.

Starting on September 4 and remaining high throughout the period of unrest, the Proton VPN Observatory recorded an 8,000% increase in sign-ups from the country.

7. Democratic Republic of Congo

The Democratic Republic of Congo is suffering from a severe humanitarian crisis, and by February 2025 an estimated 7.8 million people were internally displaced, with widespread disruption to housing, food security, water and health services. This crisis is driven by an ongoing civil war between the Congolese government and the Rwandan-backed rebel paramilitary group, M23.

In February, not long after protests and riots in Kinshasa over the government’s handling of the security situation and perceived international inaction on rebel advances, M23 conducted large-scale operations in the eastern provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu, and were targeted by a rally bombing in Bukavu that resulted in multiple fatalities and dozens of injuries.

Amid this febrile and unstable situation, users across several Congolese cities started to report difficulties accessing popular social media services like TikTok and X. There was no clear official explanation for these disruptions, and government regulators at the time could not definitively say whether the block was accidental or intentional.

However, the fact that access to the Google Play Store was blocked(new window) (in a country where almost all internet access is via mobile phones and few can afford Apple products), strongly suggests the move was deliberate.

We saw a 7,000% rise in Proton VPN sign-ups from DR Congo in February, as many Congolese citizens turned to VPNs to access blocked services. This shows that many people found alternative ways to access our service outside of the Play Store (such as by downloading our app as an APK). Over February, services slowly returned to normal.

8. South Sudan

Since 2020, South Sudan has been ruled by a “unity government”, with President Salva Kiir sharing power with former rebel leader Riek Machar as First Vice‑President. This arrangement remains very fragile, and in early 2025, repeated delays of core reforms resulted in a resurgence of armed clashes between government forces and ex-rebel militias.

This dangerous situation was exacerbated by a large influx of refugees fleeing war in neighboring Sudan, during which graphic images of killings of South Sudanese citizens in Sudan were widely distributed on social media.

Starting at midnight on 22 January amid a humanitarian crisis that affected some 7.5 million facing acute food insecurity, an economy still reeling from the loss of oil‑export revenues after the Sudan conflict disrupted the main pipeline, and increased pressure from both humanitarian and opposition groups, the government ordered a 30-90-day block on major social media platforms such as Facebook and TikTok.

It claimed this was in response to graphic content linked to violence, but many suspect the motive was to control the narrative ahead of the upcoming electoral cycle, which culminates in a presidential and parliamentary election to be held in December 2026.

In practice, the ban was lifted after only a few days (on January 28). But during this period, Proton VPN recorded a 5200% increase in sign-ups.

9. Venezuela

Political turmoil in Venezuela didn’t start with recent (January 2026) events. On January 10, 2025, then President Nicolás Maduro was sworn in for a third term. And with civil society groups documenting at least 83 new political detainees in the first 12 days of the month, domestic political tensions were running high.

The Venezuelan government responded by blocking multiple social media platforms, VPN websites, and international DNS services such as Cloudflare (1.1.1.1) and Google (8.8.8.8), that are commonly used to bypass local internet censorship.

In response, Proton VPN sign-ups **shot up by 5,000% **ahead of the inauguration.

10. Cameroon

On November 7, police in Cameroon’s capital, Yaoundé, opened fire on a crowd of demonstrators(new window) who were protesting over alleged fraud in the presidential election held a month earlier. One person was killed and several injured.

The next day, the government declared a partial internet lockdown that mainly affected Yaoundé and Douala, citing “public‑order concerns”. ISPs were also ordered to block access to VPNs, and on November 11, security forces raided several internet cafés in Yaoundé, arresting at least 12 people for “unauthorized use of VPNs”.

Proton VPN sign-ups from Cameroon started spiking up to 3,000% as tensions mounted in the days leading up to the fatal demonstration, as Cameroonians preemptively prepared for the trouble to come. Widely condemned internationally, most internet restrictions have now been removed.

Final thoughts: VPNs defeat government censorship

Total internet blackouts are becoming more common. What these figures clearly show is that whenever repressive governments try to prevent their citizens from accessing the free and open internet, their citizens turn to VPNs to bypass these restrictions.

Unable to prevent this, authoritarian governments have been simply turning the internet off, rather than allowing their citizens to access international news sources and use social media to organize opposition.

The cost of doing this, to both their country’s economy and the livelihoods of their citizens, however, is huge. And in a world where even limited restrictions on social media inflame public opinion, imposing internet blackouts can only be seen as a tactic of desperation.