Turkey Moves to License and Throttle VPN Providers Under New Internet Crackdown (opens in new tab)

Turkey's communications regulator is drafting legislation that would force VPN providers to obtain government licenses, establish local companies, and face fines of up to 30 million Turkish lira — a move critics warn could cripple the tools that journalists, banks, and millions of ordinary users depend on. The proposal marks the most direct regulatory challenge to VPN services in Turkey's history, extending a decade-long campaign to assert state control over the digital space.