The people of the Democratic Republic of Congo (RDC) have resorted to mass VPN services such as access to Tiktok and X Apps have been restricted.
Prol They supposedly started.
“As the conflict intensifies in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, people turn to VPN to displace the rumored blocks to X and Tiktok,” David Peterson, General Manager of Proton VPN, told Techradar.
The closure occurred only a few days after the rebel group M23 (supposedly backed by Rwanda) obtained rubber control in an important escalation to the conflict of current years, Al Jazeera informed.
At the time of writing, the true cause of the blockade is not clear, since no official statement has been published. However, users of Congolese social networks are recording difficulties in accessing social networks throughout the country for at least two days.
As reported by the Localite.CD news website, the Audiovisual Council and Communication of the Central African Nation said it has no precise information about the origin of these blockages. However, the Congolese authorities have recently criticized social platforms, especially Tiktok, due to lack of control over their content.
Peterson said: “Governments and regimes that block access to social networks to control their citizens to information and communication are now unfortunately too common in times of crisis in the world. But people, their Once, they look for VPN to preserve their free access to the Internet, as we see here in Dr Congo. “
A virtual private network (VPN) is, in fact, a security software that encrypts its Internet connections, while falsifying its real location of the IP address. The last ability is exactly what is needed to avoid restrictions like those in their place in Dr Congo.
Google Play restricted
While Dr Congo citizens are increasingly looking for VPN applications, access to these resources can also be restricted.
On Monday, February 3, 2025, Internet Watchdog Netblocks reported that the Google Play store is also blocked “in an apparent bet to prevent users from downloading VPN applications to avoid restrictions aimed at X and Tiktok.”
⚠️ Confirmed: The metrics show that Google Play Store is now restricted in DR Congo in an apparent offer to prevent users from downloading VPN applications to avoid restrictions aimed at X and Tiktok; The incident occurs in the midst of disturbances, the burning of embassies and a rebel occupation in the east #rdc pic.twitter.com/O37O82ncsfFebruary 3, 2025
When commenting on this, Peterson de Proton VPN said the team is closely monitoring the situation, pointing out how an impediment to access to VPN “would constitute an additional blow to the right of people to access information.”
He said: “At this time, Proton VPN seems to be working well in Dr Congo. If a block to VPN applications on Google Play Store or the Proton VPN website materializes, we recommend that people download the Proton VPN application directly from Github from github “
In case the grip of VPN applications intensifies, I suggest that you consult the alternative software of El Draw. Tools such as Tor Browser and Freebrowser (Android Solo), for example, can also help you avoid Internet restrictions and are completely free of use.
