- Surfshark reports that 4.6 billion people will experience internet censorship in 2025
- Asia remains the leading region, with India topping the rankings for restrictions.
- The trend has continued through 2026, with VPN use increasingly a target.
Internet freedom took a hit last year, with a staggering 4.6 billion people affected by government-imposed censorship, according to new data from Surfshark.
Findings from the company’s latest annual review reveal that while 2025 began with 47 ongoing disruptions, authorities around the world imposed 81 new restrictions throughout the year. This marks a worrying trend in which digital blackouts are no longer isolated events but systemic tools of control used by autocratic regimes.
For many users, equipping themselves with the best VPN is the only way to bypass these blocks and maintain a connection with the outside world. However, the scale of repressive measures often makes even these tools difficult to access.
“Internet outages, including long-term systemic censorship, affected 4.6 billion people in 2025, more than half of the world’s population,” said Luís Costa, research leader at Surfshark.
“Despite growing global recognition of Internet access as a fundamental human right, the scale and scope of digital restrictions continue to expand year after year.”
Asia leads the blackout charts
As in previous years, Asia was the main focus of digital censorship. The report notes that governments in 10 Asian countries imposed 56 new restrictions, affecting approximately 2 billion people.
India once again secured the top spot for restrictions in the region, imposing 24 new cases in 2025, a slight increase from the previous year. This was followed by Iraq (nine cases), Afghanistan (seven cases) and Jammu and Kashmir (five cases).
The nature of these bans is also changing. In 2025, social media platforms were the target of a quarter of all restrictions. Interestingly, Telegram replaced Facebook as the most attacked platform, facing restrictions from seven different governments.
While Asia and Africa (which recorded 20 new cases) dominated the statistics, the West was not entirely immune. Albania first imposed restrictions on the internet by banning TikTok for a year, a decision made after a conflict on the platform that resulted in the death of a teenager.
“Government-ordered closures are no longer limited to a small group of repeat offenders, but are becoming an increasingly used control tool around the world,” Costa added.
2026 begins with a wave of digital blackout
While the 2025 data paints a bleak picture, the first two weeks of 2026 suggest the situation may be getting worse. The new year has already begun with a wave of severe lockdowns and restrictions across the Middle East and South Asia.
On January 8, Iran plunged into near-total digital darkness. Iranians have been offline for more than 90 hours and counting amid widespread protests, and the government is also reportedly targeting Starlink connections. This marks the 62nd recorded case of censorship in Iran in the last decade.
“Internet restrictions in Iran reflect a growing trend of governments limiting access during political unrest, affecting security and the flow of essential information,” said Justas Pukys, senior product manager at Surfshark.
At the same time, VPN users are under siege in Jammu and Kashmir, where authorities have issued a two-month ban on VPN use to curb “terrorist activities.”
Neighboring Pakistan is also tightening its control, as the government begins to block unregistered VPN apps, leaving citizens with fewer avenues to access uncensored information.
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