Switzerland-based privacy company Proton, known for its encrypted email and VPN services like Proton Mail and Proton VPN, warns that some governments are increasingly using total internet blackouts to suppress protests, political dissent, and independent reporting.
According to the company's lead product manager, Antonio Cesarano, in an interview with AFP, Proton has for years observed how authoritarian governments apply "censorship as a playbook". Examples cited include the government in countries like Iran, where authorities shut down the internet for nearly three weeks during nationwide protests that started on January 21, 2026.
The internet shutdown in Iran affected about 90 million people. Uganda also did the same thing; from January 13 to 22, 2026, the government imposed a weeklong blackout ahead of its recent elections. Afghanistan, Egypt, and Venezuela are also not exceptions. The governments previously cut internet and telecom services.
These blackout events have become more frequent and extreme, “three times in six months”, according to Antonio Cesarano.
Proton runs a VPN Observatory, a system that watches for spikes in VPN sign-ups as an early signal of impending censorship or internet restrictions, to track and respond to VPN demand spikes tied to political events and shutdowns. Using the pattern, Proton observed over a 400,000% surge in internet blackout.
Around 8500% and +890% spikes were observed in Uganda's contested elections and internet suspension. There was over a 320% rise when some platforms were blocked in Egypt, and Venezuela experienced a 770% spike after major political turmoil. Proton said these surges often happen before shutdowns or censorship enforcement, since people anticipate or detect moves by authorities and start trying to protect their access.
Proton warns that when countries bring the internet back online after a blackout, they’re not just returning to the old status quo; they’re deploying more powerful censorship systems (“supercharged” firewalls and filtering tools) that are harder to circumvent. That means governments may use the blackout downtime to install or expand surveillance and filtering infrastructure.
They can also use the means to block VPNs, social media, news sites, and encrypted services more effectively than before. Proton’s GM David Peterson suggested this could indicate the emergence of “censorship as a service”, where countries adopt technology from places with advanced censorship systems (like China’s Great Firewall) or develop it domestically.
"For example, over the past couple of years, we've seen the Chinese 'great firewall' technology used by Myanmar, Pakistan, and some African nations," Antonio Cesarano said.
Furthermore, Proton also highlighted that some governments, like the Myanmar government, try to prevent the use of VPNs altogether. In the case of the Myanmar government, the use of VPN is illegal, and sometimes, authorities may even deploy fake VPN apps and sites as “honeypots” to lure and identify dissidents.
In fact, police are even searching people's phones for VPN software and blocking access to VPN services directly. But to counter this, Proton says it has developed features like disguising VPN apps as innocuous apps (e.g., weather or calculator icons) to help users avoid detection.
Human Rights and Freedom of Expression
Full internet blackouts don’t just slow down social media; they cut off people from independent news, emergency information, and means to organise peacefully. In places like Iran, blackouts have coincided with intense crackdowns on protests and violent repression. In addition to that, blackouts freeze commerce, banking, healthcare systems, and education, because so much of modern life depends on internet access.
Even short shutdowns can cost millions in lost economic activity. Separate reporting on recent Iranian shutdowns estimates daily losses in the tens of millions of dollars. According to Proton, governments are not only using internet shutdowns to silence dissent but also using them as long-term censorship capabilities.
The company says authoritarian states are treating blackouts as opportunities to upgrade surveillance and filtering systems, emerging with far more sophisticated tools to control online access. This growing willingness to impose total shutdowns reflects what Proton describes as a “censorship playbook”, sometimes enabled by imported technologies such as China’s “Great Firewall”.
These measures directly undermine freedom of expression by restricting access to information, blocking independent media, and preventing people from communicating securely during politically sensitive moments. Even the human rights impact is severe. Extended shutdowns have helped obscure violent crackdowns that rights groups say killed thousands.
Proton warns that these practices not only endanger individuals but also chill free speech on a massive scale, pushing people to rely on circumvention tools in an increasingly dangerous digital environment where basic rights to expression, privacy, and information are under sustained attack.
