Internet blackouts used to boost censorship: ProtonAFP, GENEVA, SwitzerlandAs countries step up their use of Internet shutdowns to muzzle dissent, some are also taking advantage of the blackouts to increase censorship firewalls, Internet privacy company Proton said. Increasingly, it is observing governments in countries such as Iran and Myanmar emerging from Internet shutdowns with a supercharged ability to censor Internet access. Switzerland-based Proton tracks demand for its free virtual private network (VPN) services to detect government crackdowns and attacks on free speech. In several cases, internet shutdowns saw countries’ censorship capabilities “going from nothing, or something laughable, to something very skilled,” Cesarano said. Right before Iran’s Internet shutdown took effect on Jan. 8, the VPN Observatory noted a 1,000 percent rise in use of Proton’s VPN services, indicating an awareness of the coming clampdown.

Source: Taipei Times February 05, 2026 16:08 UTC