Internet blocking, an increasingly frequent weapon of repression

Proton, a Swiss company known for its encrypted messaging and virtual private network (VPN) services, has been watching for years how authoritarian governments apply “censorship as a strategy” on the internet, its product manager, Antonio Cesarano, told AFP.

With a VPN, Internet users can securely access a server, which reinforces anonymity on the network and often allows them to bypass local Internet access restrictions.

Proton created the VPN Observatory in 2023, a non-profit organization that It analyzes the demand for its services and thus indirectly detects cases of government repression and violations of freedom of expression.

“When we detect abnormal activity in our infrastructure, we can anticipate an imminent event,” says Cesarano, Proton spokesperson in the fight against internet censorship and the defense of online freedoms.

For example, he mentions the “considerable spikes in demand” seen in countries such as Iran, Uganda, Russia and Burma before the censorship campaigns that often accompany repression.

The Observatory has been studying for several years the actions of authoritarian governments that, in the face of riots or protests, decide to block social networks, restrict Internet access or declare VPNs illegal.

Just before the last internet shutdown in Iran, on January 8, The Observatory found a 1,000% increase in the use of Proton VPN services which would indicate that the population was aware that access to the network could be restricted imminently.

VPN use also skyrocketed in Venezuela at the beginning of the year, when growth of 770% was recorded in the days following the capture of President Nicolás Maduro by the United States, according to the Observatory.

And in Uganda, subscriptions to VPN services increased by 890% in the days before the elections in January, according to the same source.

In this context, a new trend is emerging: that of imposing total internet cuts. According to Cesarano, this tool has been used “three times in six months.”

The last one? The mega blackout imposed in Iran, where more than 90 million inhabitants were left without Internet for almost three weeks in January, covering up the bloody repression of protests, which left thousands of deadaccording to human rights NGOs.

Cesarano also recalled the week-long internet blockade imposed in Uganda days before last month’s elections and the general internet and telecommunications failure that occurred in Afghanistan in October.

“A total internet shutdown is very worrying, as it is an extreme measure,” said Cesarano, who stressed that this type of measure practically paralyzes the country’s economy.

In several cases, Cesarano recalls that there are countries that have taken advantage of long-lasting network outages to develop their censorship capabilities.

For his part, David Paterson, CEO of Proton VPN, pointed out that this sudden development of capabilities could be an indication that there are countries that are “selling” this censorship technology “as a service.”

“For example, in the last two years, we have seen the use of Chinese ‘great firewall’ technology by Burma, Pakistan and some African countries”he explained.

In places like Myanmar, where the use of VPNs is illegal, authorities are deploying fake VPN apps “as traps” to identify dissidents, Paterson said. And in several countries, the police can also monitor the cell phones of passers-by to see if they are using that technology.