In 2020, spikes in the demand for online privacy was monumental, research based on interest in the NordVPN service shows. New legislations, government control, civil unrest, and political destabilization is being met with digital dissidence this year.

2020 has been turbulent in many ways. Including attempts to restrict the free internet. This year alone, NordVPN received 7,254 emergency VPN access requests from journalists and activists. This is 10 times more than a year ago. Most of the requests came from Hong Kong, but we also received requests from Iran, Kashmere, Burma, and other countries with strict internet censorship and heavy surveillance. Not to mention the people who got affected by the bans and sought solutions to protect their online identities.

ProPrivacy Digital Privacy Researcher Attila Tomaschek believes that VPNs have become a crucial tool for those wishing to maintain their digital freedom in a tumultuous year. We’ve seen multiple instances this year where governments have taken action to exert control over their citizens both online and in person, typically under the guise of national security, public health or upholding morality.

The top ten instances of VPN demand spikes this year show the scale of the spike compared to the previous day and explain its social and political background.

Countries where people, responding to events around them, rushed to protect their online presence the most this year.

The most significant uplift of interest in NordVPN online privacy tools was registered in Azerbaijan. After the government restricted major online communications platforms, 148 times more people rushed looking for the cure to the problem.

Immediately following Beijing’s introduction of a new security law that effectively signaled an end to the autonomy of Hong Kong, 120 times more people came looking for an online privacy tool that could help them to maintain online communication from the censoring eye.

Finally, the night after the Turkish government announced its plan to block social media platforms and VPN services, 19 times more Turks came looking for ways to circumvent the censorship.

More and more we are seeing that informed citizens across the globe are using technology to push back. This is evidenced by the massive spikes we saw in VPN usage immediately following government efforts to censor online content or even shut down online communication entirely.

VPNs can be used for many things, but, most importantly, VPNs are a crucial tool that citizens can use to secure their digital privacy, bypass censorship efforts, and preserve their human rights and freedom of expression in the face of government oppression.

Methodology 

This data was collected by Google Analytics. The spike percentage was calculated by measuring NordVPN’s website traffic compared to the day before. Statistical significance has been considered, therefore more countries have been eliminated from the list.

Data was collected for the year 2020, starting January 1 and ending November 26.

By Laura Tyrell 다른기사 보기