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Nepal is the 8th country in 2025 to issue a social media ban  provoking an
over 8,000% spike in VPN sign-ups

Date:
Wed, 10 Sep 2025 14:41:51 +0000

Description:
Nepal has now lifted the social media ban after at least 19 people have been
killed during protests against the social media ban, which came into force on
Thursday, September 4.

FULL STORY
======================================================================

Nepal is just the latest in a long list of countries shutting down access to
social media platforms during times of political instability  and at least 
the 8th nation to do so in 2025 so far. 

Authorities in Nepal began enforcing a ban on all major social media apps and
websites starting from Thursday, September 4. 26 social media platforms were
impacted, including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and X.  The government
justified the ban by saying that these companies failed to comply with local
registration rules  TechCrunch reported  as well as the ban serving as a way
of tackling fake news, hate speech, and online fraud, according to the BBC . 

However, the ban would then be lifted on Tuesday , September 9, and, as when
similar incidents have occurred elsewhere, Nepalese citizens have turned en
masse to the best VPN services to stay connected. 

One of the most secure and reliable free VPN apps on the market, Proton VPN
recorded spikes in usage of over 8,000% across the country starting from
Thursday. 

A company spokesperson told TechRadar that, at the time of writing, Proton 
VPN usage still remains above baseline in Nepal, despite the rate of 
downloads starting to decrease as the ban was loosened.

A virtual private network (VPN) encrypts all users' internet connections,
while masking their IP address for extra privacy and security. 

The latter skill is exactly what's needed to be able to bypass otherwise
geo-blocked content online, such as a censored website, like in the case of
Nepal. 

All that's needed is connecting to a VPN server based outside of Nepal (and
any other country enforcing similar restrictions) to trick the local internet
service provider (ISP) into granting access to censored sites.

Social media bans  a quick 2025 overview

Nepal is the 8th example in 2025 so far of a government opting to restrict
social media access as political tensions grow across the country, impacting
people's right to free speech and access to information. 

Only this week, Turkey enforced a 24-hour blockade on all major social media
apps on Monday, September 8, throttling access to X, YouTube, Instagram,
Facebook, TikTok, and WhatsApp. That was at least the second time it happened
this year, with a similar ban occurring in March . Proton VPN registrations 
in Indonesia spiked +1300% overnight amid reports of social media blocks
during anti-government protests.

Proton VPN downloads also skyrocketed in Indonesia at the end of August, with
spikes of "+1300% overnight amid reports of social media blocks during
anti-government protests," wrote Proton VPN's General Manager, David 
Peterson, on a post on X . 

Social media restrictions also occurred in 2025 across Kenya, Tanzania, Togo,
DR Congo , and Venezuela . The latter country even targeted VPN usage by
blocking over 20 VPN websites . 

In 2024, Proton recorded spikes in VPN usage across 119 countries during 
times of political crisis, over what experts at Access Now described as "the
worst year on record for internet freedoms ," yet again.

======================================================================
Link to news story:
https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/nepal-is-the-8th-country-in
-2025-to-issue-a-social-media-ban-provoking-an-over-8-000-percent-spike-in-vpn
-sign-ups

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