Censorship Issues: 196

Are VPNs Legal In Your Country?

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Websites have been actively censored, bloggers have been jailed and even sentenced to death and other forms of human rights abuses have been well documented. The use of VPNs is still legal, though. The ICT Act of Mauritius gives the government practically express right to block content on the Internet — due to how weakly-worded it is — and the act was indeed once used to block access to Facebook.

There have been no reports of the government trying to interfere in the internet activities of citizens in Micronesia. The use of VPNs is also legal in the Oceanian country. It is also legal to use a VPN in Moldova. Thankfully, the use of VPNs is still legal in the country. However, the use of VPNs is still legal in the country. Your secret is in our hands. The use of VPNs is also legal in Namibia. The use of VPNs is yet to be outlawed in the country. With almost all of its citizens using the Internet — with a penetration rate of 93 percent in — the Internet is a core part of the day to day activities of the citizens of Netherlands, and it is a generally free country when it comes to the internet.

The use of VPNs is also perfectly legal in the country. The use of VPNs in the country is legal, though. This makes sense, though, when we consider the fact that just 2 percent of citizens were on the internet in With about 97 percent of Norwegians using the internet, this country has one of the highest internet penetration rates. There has also been no credible reports of the government trying to restrict access to the Internet, and the use of VPNs in the country is perfectly legal.

Youtube, Facebook, Flickr and even Wikipedia have been blocked in this country — a Youtube ban was just recently lifted. Internet filtering is also in place to filter content and search results shown to citizens. The use of VPNs is yet to be outlawed in this country, though. There is no documented report of internet censorship in Palau, and the use of VPNs is legal in this country.

The Palestinian government have been reported to actively censor the internet activities of its citizens as well as opposition media. Several websites have also been shut down by the Palestinian government. The use of VPNs is currently legal in the country.

No effort has been made in recent times by the Philippines government to prevent Filipinos from accessing the Internet. While Qatar generally blocks obscene content or content it deems critical of Islam, innocent sites have also been blocked without explanation. The government has repeatedly made it clear that it has no role in blocking any site, though; they set the law and leave things to the ISP.

The Rwandan government has been caught blocking independent newspaper websites as well as sites belong to the opposition — the government has also been caught making moves to spy on its internet users. There has been no reports of the government trying to restrict access to the Internet in this country, and the use of VPNs is legal. There are no reports of the government trying to censor the Internet in Saint Lucia, and the use of VPNs is legal in the country. The use of VPNs is legal in this Caribbean country.

There has been no credible evidence of the government trying to interfere with the Internet in this Central African country, and the use of VPNs is perfectly legal. Saudi Arabia actively censors the internet activities of its users, and The Guardian once called it the leader of Arab regimes in internet censorship. While many regard Senegal to be generally free of internet censorship, many have raised eyebrows about its Cybercrimes Law, its Decree of Encryption and other laws that they believe give the government carte blanche to censor internet usage in the country if they so desire to.

The use of VPNs is yet to be legalized in the country. The fact remains that the Serbian government is an abuser of internet rights. They are yet to illegalize the use of VPNs, though.

The use of VPNs is currently legal in the country, however. Political websites have been shut down , critics of the government have been targeted and other forms of censorship have been documented in Singapore. With over 73 percent of Slovenians using the Internet, internet adoption is quite high in Slovenia. There has been no credible report of the government trying to censor the Internet in this country, and the use of VPNs is currently legal.

With the Somali government routinely blocking websites critical of its activities, there is no doubt that internet censorship exists. However, the use of VPNs is yet to be outlawed. South Korea has repeatedly made news for monitoring and censoring the internet activity of its users. The use of VPNs is legal in this country, though. Internet shutdowns, raiding of internet cafes and arresting internet users are not uncommon in Sudan. However, the country is improving in terms of internet freedom for its citizens.

With over 91 percent of its citizens using the Internet, Sweden has one of the highest internet penetration rates in the world. While Switzerland is a free country in terms of internet freedom, Syria has a long history of human rights abuse and internet censorship, but the use of VPNs is currently legal in the country. The use of VPNs is perfectly legal in the country, though.

Skip to content Disclosure: Only government-approved VPNs are allowed to use When: Only government approved VPNs are allowed to use When: Restricted for Individuals When: A few also use VPN service to fake their IP location in order to use services offered in a region only What does it mean: Yes The Afghanistan government made news recently for instructing ISPs to filter certain categories of sites it considers objectionable, and to outrightly ban sites they find offensive. Yes Approximately 79 percent of Andorrans use the Internet, making it one of the top countries in terms of Internet penetration.

Yes Angola has made news for trying to censor the media and access to the internet, with the Angolan president even publicly announcing his plans to crack down on social media, but no attempts has been made to block VPN usage in the country. Yes There is no report of Internet censorship or an attempt from the government to interfere with the Internet in Antigua and Barbuda.

Yes While Australia recently passed legislation that gives its government power to block access to certain sites, VPNs in particular have not been targeted. Yes The Austrian constitution protects the free speech and press of its citizens, and this is respected by the Austrian government. Yes Azerbaijan has been reported to actively censor the Internet , with the Azerbaijan government arresting bloggers, punishing online activists and even placing social media sites under strict scrutiny.

Yes There have been news of some attempts at internet censorship in The Bahamas. Yes The government of Bangladesh has repeatedly made news for banning various sites and social media, including Facebook and WhatsApp , and at a point the government even mistakenly shut down the Internet while trying to implement a ban. Yes There is no credible report that the Barbados government actively censors the Internet, and the use of VPNs is perfectly legal as at the time of writing this. Yes There have been reports of the government placing restrictions on internet access.

Yes There is no documented report of the government actively censoring the Internet, and the use of VPNs is currently legal in Botswana.

Yes Brazil has made news for banning parts of social media, including WhatsApp in Yes There have been reports of the government actively monitoring internet usage and activities of its citizens. Yes The Bulgarian government actively monitors internet usage of its citizens and have attempted to introduce legislation to grant the state power to control internet communication.

Yes With just 9. Yes Cambodia has repeatedly made the news for active efforts to censor the Internet, including having members of the opposition arrested for Facebook posts. Yes Cameroon recently made news for blocking internet access in English-speaking parts of the country, an act that affected 20 percent of Cameroonians.

Yes While top telecommunications experts, most notably David Purdy of Rogers Communications , have called on the Canadian government to block VPNs in the North American country, no such actions have been taken yet. Yes While Colombia recently made news for banning Bitcoins , the Internet has been flourishing over there and the government has been doing a good job of not interfering.

Yes The government of the Republic of Congo is renowned for actively shutting down, and censoring the internet, especially when trying to prevent protests. Yes The Internet is not subject to any known government restrictions in Cyprus, and the use of VPNs is legal in the country. Yes The Denmark government has made news for actively blocking websites in the past, and they just recently introduced law that will make it easy for the Denmark government to actively censor the Internet.

Yes With the only internet service provider in this country owned and controlled by the government, and with an active history of press restrictions, this country is not very friendly when it comes to the Internet.

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Yes There is no report of the government trying to censor the Internet, and the use of VPNs is still perfectly legal in Dominica. Yes There has been no documented reports of the government actively censoring internet users in the Dominican Republic, and the use of VPNs is perfectly legal in this Caribbean country.

Yes Equatorial Guinea is featured in several lists as one of the most censored countries in the world, with the government and his family actively monopolizing the press and restricting the press freedom of citizens. Yes Okay, here you have it. Yes Just recently, Gambia made news for shutting down internet access and international phone calls ahead of elections.

Yes Germany has repeatedly made news for its attempts to censor the internet, and just recently the German justice minister proposed legislation that allows the government to monitor and censor social media sites. Yes Research revealed that the Greek government recently initiated large scale content blocking that is tantamount to internet censorship. Yes The Guyanese government does not restrict access to the Internet, and the use of VPNs is currently legal in the country. Yes About 12 percent of Haitians use the Internet , and there is no documented report of the Haitian government actively trying to restrict the Internet.

Yes Youtube, Reddit and Vimeo are just some of the top sites blocked by the Indonesian government. Yes Kazakhstan is one of the countries in which there is active internet censorship. Yes Kenya is one of the few African countries in which there is no form of government censorship. Yes While Kiribati is very low on internet adoption — with just about Yes The Law of Interception of Telecommunication — aimed at giving the government real-time access to all data related to electronic communications — that was introduced by the government of Kosovo a few years was met with mixed feelings.

Censorship of stage plays was exercised by the Master of the Revels in England by about until the English Civil War in In , partly as a result of political attacks by Henry Fielding against Robert Walpole , Parliament enacted a law that established "the Examiner of the Stage" an official in the Lord Chamberlain 's office to censor plays on the basis of both politics and morals i. Plays had to be licensed by the Lord Chamberlain.

This censorship by licensing requirement was finally abolished by the Theatres Act According to Rufus Osgood Mason who gives an example of a written license from Charles Kemble , later in life, received the appointment of "Examiner of Plays.

Those that were approved were reported to the Lord Chamberlain who issued the license. England and Wales have relatively strict libel laws " defamation " in Scotland in that they are often considered pro plaintiff with the defendant asked to prove that they did not commit libel. Compensation awards for libel are also unlimited, in contrast to those for personal injury.

Further controversy surrounds the libel laws with regard to costs. Whilst costs can be awarded the ability both to bring and to defend libel cases is often considered to be restricted to the wealthy. Conversely it is possible to initiate a "no win — no fee" case against a wealthy individual or organisation if the individual bringing the case has insignificant assets as even if the case is lost the wealthy individual or organisation are unable to recover their costs.

Typically in such cases an out of court settlement is forced upon the wealthy individual or organisation.

Censorship and Literature

A recent example is the case of Simon Singh's lawsuit , where author and journalist Simon Singh was sued by the British Chiropractic Association for criticism of chiropractic therapy which rested on a summary of recent scientific research. Singh has been able to pursue a legal defence because of his earnings from four best-sellers.

In another case the UK based academic publisher Equinox was forced to remove a peer reviewed academic article from its publication International Journal of Speech Language and the Law. It also comprised a response to perceptions that the law as it stood was giving rise to libel tourism and other inappropriate claims.

Blasphemy against Christianity was long an important part of British censorship, with the unwritten common law containing an offence of blasphemous libel. Prosecutions were rare, however, the last one being the Gay News legal case Whitehouse v. Later developments around the turn of the 21st century put the continued viability of blasphemy prosecutions in doubt.

Critics claimed the Racial and Religious Hatred Act could hinder freedom of speech.

Countries Where Using VPN is Legal

Comedians and satirists also fear prosecution for their work. There are several Acts of the United Kingdom Parliament for the protection of official information, mainly related to national security. The latest revision is the Official Secrets Act [59] chapter 6 , which removed the public interest defence by repealing section 2 of the Official Secrets Act In , a memo containing details of a possible US bombing of broadcaster Al Jazeera was leaked to the press.

Attorney General Peter Goldsmith has warned newspapers that they could be prosecuted under the Official Secrets Act if they publish the contents of the memo, saying "You are reminded that to publish the contents of a document which is known to have been unlawfully disclosed by a crown servant is in itself a breach of section 5 of the Official Secrets Act ". The Terrorism Act makes it an offence to collect or possess information likely to be of use to a terrorist. The Terrorism Act makes it an offence to "glorify" terrorism. DA-Notices are official but voluntary requests to news editors not to publish items on specified subjects, for reasons of national security.

Beyond obscenity law, there have been a number of organisations whose main function was to approve material prior to distribution. Plays and theatres had long been licensed by the Crown prior to Licensure of a playhouse, however, only gave a general patent. The crown had no ability to censor before plays were performed. Under the provisions of the Theatrical Licensing Act of as extended by the Theatres Act , the Lord Chamberlain's Office was able to censor plays. The Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre pre-approves most British television advertising [69] under Ofcom rules, other broadcasters can also approve their own advertising content, but most rely on the BACC.

The Advertising Standards Authority is the regulatory advertising body, but can only prevent the republication of advertisements after upholding complaints from the general public. The advent of the Internet access has made the act of censorship more difficult, and there has been a relaxation of censorship in recognition of this.

BBFC guidelines have been relaxed further to allow the limited distribution of hardcore pornography under an R18 certificate , partially because of this, and partially because of a recognition that public attitudes have changed. Further confirmation of this change in attitude was provided by the French film Baise-moi , which was given an 18 certificate despite showing scenes of unsimulated sexual activity.

Ofcom is now the regulatory body for UK television, radio, and telecommunications services since the abolition of the Independent Television Commission. The government's new requirements for Ofcom only require it to ensure adherence to "generally accepted standards" and prevention of harm, removing the former requirement to adhere to standards of "taste and decency". A number of industries carry out what is known as self-regulation.

Self-regulation seeks to keep content within the bounds of what is publicly acceptable, thus preventing government intervention to bring about official regulation. Some of the areas they are concerned about include obscenity, slander and libel. There is no clear line between self-regulation in matters of expression and self-censorship.

Industry self-regulatory bodies include the Advertising Standards Authority. Art was often used as propaganda in Europe, often to point out political scandals but also to spread patriotism in times of need. During the French Revolution , Britain was in fact the only country where such propaganda was free and legal. Although all three caricaturists had different perspectives and opinions, they were the frontrunners in the push towards patriotism of the United Kingdom when the UK faced attack from Napoleon.

Freedom of expression and protection of privacy over the Internet is guaranteed by UK law. Nonetheless, since about there has been a shift toward increased surveillance and police measures. Combating terrorism and preventing child abuse have been widely used by state agencies and private commercial actors e.

Internet service providers to justify the implementation of interception and direct filtering measures.

Censorship - Volume 274

Since the end of a rolling program has been in place to ensure that most households in the UK have pornography and other material such as suicide, alcohol and violence-related content filtered from the Internet by default unless a household chooses to receive it. In addition to Internet filtering, the UK also prosecutes those who are alleged to be violating hate speech laws online.

In particular, the Communications Act outlaws the act of sending "by means of a public electronic communications network a message or other matter that is grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character. He was criticized for saying that a refusal by ten technology companies to send representatives to a meeting he held gave him "a big impetus to drive these proposals to legislate through. Some regulation of the Internet is coordinated through an online police presence. The Metropolitan Police Service 's Twitter account for example, which has been online since , has been applauded for its responsiveness.

A censored version of the play was eventually allowed to be performed, but uncensored scripts, with the censored portions printed in all capital letters, were printed by the theatre's manager. The play became a smash hit. The novel Ulysses by James Joyce was banned in the United Kingdom in when it was declared obscene.

Novelist George Orwell wrote several articles on censorship including an item titled The Freedom of the Press in There's a problem loading this menu right now. Learn more about Amazon Prime. Get fast, free shipping with Amazon Prime. Get to Know Us. English Choose a language for shopping.

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