<s>
VPN	B-Application
blocking	I-Application
is	O
a	O
technique	O
used	O
to	O
block	O
the	O
encrypted	O
protocol	B-Protocol
tunneling	I-Protocol
communications	O
methods	O
used	O
by	O
virtual	B-Application
private	I-Application
network	I-Application
(	O
VPN	B-Application
)	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Often	O
used	O
by	O
large	O
organizations	O
such	O
as	O
national	O
governments	O
or	O
corporations	O
,	O
it	O
can	O
act	O
as	O
a	O
tool	O
for	O
computer	O
security	O
or	O
Internet	B-Application
censorship	I-Application
by	O
preventing	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
VPNs	B-Application
to	O
bypass	O
network	B-Application
firewall	I-Application
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Blocking	O
VPN	B-Application
access	O
can	O
be	O
done	O
a	O
few	O
different	O
ways	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ports	B-Protocol
that	O
are	O
used	O
by	O
common	O
VPN	B-Application
tunneling	B-Protocol
protocols	I-Protocol
,	O
such	O
as	O
PPTP	B-Protocol
or	O
L2TP	B-Application
,	O
to	O
establish	O
their	O
connections	O
and	O
transfer	O
data	O
can	O
be	O
closed	O
by	O
system	O
administrators	O
to	O
prevent	O
their	O
use	O
on	O
certain	O
networks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Similarly	O
,	O
a	O
service	O
can	O
prohibit	O
access	O
by	O
blocking	O
access	O
from	O
IP	B-Protocol
addresses	I-Protocol
and	O
IP	B-Protocol
address	I-Protocol
ranges	O
that	O
are	O
known	O
to	O
belong	O
to	O
VPN	B-Application
providers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
governments	O
have	O
been	O
known	O
to	O
block	O
all	O
access	O
to	O
overseas	O
IP	B-Protocol
addresses	I-Protocol
,	O
since	O
VPN	B-Application
use	O
can	O
involve	O
connecting	O
to	O
remote	O
hosts	O
that	O
do	O
not	O
operate	O
under	O
that	O
government	O
's	O
jurisdiction	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
organizations	O
have	O
ramped	O
up	O
efforts	O
to	O
block	O
VPN	B-Application
access	O
which	O
bypasses	O
their	O
firewalls	B-Application
,	O
VPN	B-Application
providers	O
have	O
responded	O
by	O
utilizing	O
more	O
sophisticated	O
techniques	O
to	O
make	O
their	O
connections	O
less	O
conspicuous	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
instance	O
,	O
as	O
the	O
Chinese	O
government	O
began	O
using	O
deep	B-Application
packet	I-Application
inspection	I-Application
to	O
identify	O
VPN	B-Application
protocols	O
,	O
the	O
firm	O
Golden	O
Frog	O
began	O
scrambling	O
OpenVPN	B-Language
packet	O
metadata	O
for	O
its	O
popular	O
VyprVPN	O
service	O
in	O
an	O
attempt	O
to	O
avoid	O
detection	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Chinese	O
internet	O
users	O
started	O
reporting	O
unstable	O
connections	O
in	O
May	O
2011	O
while	O
using	O
VPNs	B-Application
to	O
connect	O
to	O
overseas	O
websites	O
and	O
services	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Apple	B-Application
App	I-Application
Store	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Universities	O
and	O
businesses	O
began	O
issuing	O
notices	O
to	O
stop	O
using	O
tools	O
to	O
circumvent	O
the	O
firewall	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
late	O
2012	O
,	O
companies	O
providing	O
VPN	B-Application
services	I-Application
claimed	O
the	B-Application
Great	I-Application
Firewall	I-Application
of	I-Application
China	I-Application
became	O
able	O
to	O
"	O
learn	O
,	O
discover	O
and	O
block	O
"	O
the	O
encrypted	O
communications	O
methods	O
used	O
by	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
different	O
VPN	B-Application
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2017	O
,	O
telecommunications	O
carriers	O
in	O
China	O
were	O
instructed	O
by	O
the	O
government	O
to	O
block	O
individuals	O
 '	O
use	O
of	O
VPNs	B-Application
by	O
February	O
2018	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2022	O
,	O
the	O
government	O
of	O
India	O
stated	O
VPN	B-Application
providers	O
must	O
log	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
user	O
data	O
for	O
a	O
minimum	O
of	O
five	O
years	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
the	O
new	O
ruling	O
,	O
many	O
VPN	B-Application
service	I-Application
providers	I-Application
removed	O
their	O
physical	O
servers	O
from	O
India	O
and	O
instead	O
operate	O
virtual	O
servers	O
,	O
allowing	O
users	O
to	O
still	O
connect	O
to	O
India	O
locations	O
but	O
without	O
falling	O
under	O
the	O
jurisdiction	O
of	O
Indian	O
law	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
government	O
of	O
Iran	O
began	O
blocking	O
access	O
to	O
non-government	O
sanctioned	O
VPNs	B-Application
in	O
March	O
2013	O
,	O
a	O
few	O
months	O
prior	O
to	O
the	O
2013	O
elections	O
,	O
to	O
"	O
prosecute	O
users	O
who	O
are	O
violating	O
state	O
laws	O
"	O
and	O
"	O
take	O
offenders	O
to	O
national	O
courts	O
under	O
supervision	O
of	O
judiciary	O
service	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Use	O
of	O
VPNs	B-Application
approved	O
by	O
the	O
government	O
reportedly	O
led	O
to	O
surveillance	O
and	O
inspection	O
of	O
private	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
July	O
2017	O
,	O
the	O
State	O
Duma	O
passed	O
a	O
bill	O
requiring	O
the	O
Internet	O
providers	O
to	O
block	O
websites	O
that	O
offer	O
VPNs	B-Application
,	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
prevent	O
the	O
spreading	O
of	O
"	O
extremist	O
materials	O
"	O
on	O
the	O
Internet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
unclear	O
exactly	O
how	O
Russia	O
plans	O
to	O
implement	O
the	O
regulation	O
;	O
though	O
it	O
seems	O
like	O
both	O
the	O
Federal	O
Security	O
Service	O
(	O
FSB	O
)	O
and	O
ISPs	O
will	O
be	O
tasked	O
with	O
identifying	O
and	O
cracking	O
down	O
on	O
VPNs	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
November	O
,	O
2017	O
BBC	O
made	O
it	O
clear	O
that	O
Russia	O
has	O
not	O
banned	O
VPN	B-Application
usage	O
entirely	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
VPN	B-Application
usage	O
is	O
only	O
banned	O
when	O
attempting	O
to	O
access	O
sites	O
already	O
blocked	O
by	O
Roskomnadzor	O
or	O
Russia	O
's	O
governing	O
body	O
for	O
telecommunications	O
and	O
mass	O
media	O
communications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Using	O
a	O
VPN	B-Application
for	O
business	O
or	O
personal	O
reasons	O
to	O
access	O
legal	O
sites	O
in	O
Russia	O
is	O
permitted	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Russia	O
has	O
banned	O
various	O
VPN	B-Application
service	I-Application
providers	I-Application
in	O
2021	O
and	O
forced	O
Google	O
to	O
delist	O
VPN	B-Application
websites	O
even	O
while	O
Russians	O
continue	O
to	O
download	O
VPNs	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
government	O
of	O
Syria	O
activated	O
deep	B-Application
packet	I-Application
inspection	I-Application
after	O
the	O
uprising	O
in	O
2011	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
block	O
VPN	B-Application
connections	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
censorship	O
targeted	O
different	O
VPN	B-Application
protocols	O
like	O
OpenVPN	B-Language
,	O
L2TP	B-Application
and	O
PPTP	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
government	O
of	O
Pakistan	O
issued	O
a	O
notice	O
to	O
VPN	B-Application
providers	O
to	O
register	O
their	O
IPs	O
,	O
otherwise	O
their	O
VPN	B-Application
service	I-Application
will	O
be	O
blocked	O
like	O
in	O
China	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
an	O
attempt	O
to	O
curb	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
social	O
media	O
by	O
its	O
citizens	O
,	O
the	O
government	O
of	O
Turkey	O
has	O
considered	O
the	O
complete	O
ban	O
of	O
VPN	B-Application
apps	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
an	O
attempt	O
to	O
stop	O
unauthorized	O
access	O
from	O
users	O
outside	O
the	O
US	O
,	O
Hulu	O
began	O
blocking	O
users	O
accessing	O
the	O
site	O
from	O
IP	B-Protocol
addresses	I-Protocol
linked	O
to	O
VPN	B-Application
services	I-Application
in	O
April	O
2014	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
doing	O
so	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
the	O
company	O
also	O
restricted	O
access	O
from	O
legitimate	O
U.S.-based	O
users	O
using	O
VPNs	B-Application
for	O
security	O
reasons	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
VPN	B-Application
providers	O
such	O
as	O
VikingVPN	O
,	O
NordVPN	B-Application
and	O
TorGuard	O
stated	O
that	O
they	O
would	O
seek	O
ways	O
to	O
address	O
this	O
issue	O
for	O
their	O
customers	O
by	O
speaking	O
directly	O
to	O
Hulu	O
about	O
a	O
resolution	O
and	O
rolling	O
out	O
more	O
dedicated	B-Protocol
IP	I-Protocol
addresses	O
,	O
respectively	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Netflix	O
came	O
under	O
pressure	O
from	O
major	O
film	O
studios	O
in	O
September	O
2014	O
to	O
block	O
VPN	B-Application
access	O
,	O
as	O
up	O
to	O
200,000	O
Australian	O
subscribers	O
were	O
using	O
Netflix	O
despite	O
it	O
not	O
being	O
available	O
yet	O
in	O
Australia	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
VPN	B-Application
access	O
for	O
Netflix	O
has	O
,	O
like	O
other	O
streaming	O
services	O
,	O
allowed	O
users	O
to	O
view	O
content	O
more	O
securely	O
or	O
while	O
out	O
of	O
the	O
country	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Netflix	O
users	O
have	O
also	O
used	O
VPNs	B-Application
as	O
a	O
means	O
of	O
bypassing	O
throttling	O
efforts	O
made	O
by	O
service	O
providers	O
such	O
as	O
Verizon	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
also	O
important	O
to	O
note	O
that	O
all	O
VPNs	B-Application
might	O
slow	O
down	O
internet	O
connection	O
when	O
trying	O
to	O
stream	O
Netflix	O
;	O
however	O
,	O
there	O
are	O
cases	O
where	O
using	O
a	O
VPN	B-Application
might	O
improve	O
connection	O
if	O
a	O
user	O
's	O
ISP	O
has	O
been	O
throttling	O
Netflix	O
traffic	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
June	O
2018	O
,	O
the	O
Netflix	O
VPN	B-Application
and	O
proxy	O
ban	O
is	O
still	O
active	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
CEO	O
of	O
Netflix	O
,	O
Reed	O
Hastings	O
made	O
a	O
comment	O
in	O
2016	O
about	O
the	O
VPN	B-Application
market	O
as	O
a	O
whole	O
;	O
“	O
It	O
’s	O
a	O
very	O
small	O
but	O
quite	O
vocal	O
minority	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
BBC	O
started	O
blocking	O
users	O
connecting	O
via	O
VPNs	B-Application
in	O
October	O
2015	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
BBC	O
is	O
able	O
to	O
detect	O
VPN	B-Application
connections	O
by	O
monitoring	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
simultaneous	O
connections	O
coming	O
from	O
each	O
IP	B-Protocol
address	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
connections	O
from	O
the	O
same	O
IP	B-Protocol
becomes	O
abnormal	O
the	O
BBC	O
will	O
block	O
future	O
connections	O
from	O
the	O
offending	O
IP	B-Protocol
address	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
BBC	B-Application
iPlayer	I-Application
remains	O
unavailable	O
to	O
UK	O
TV	O
Licence	O
holders	O
connecting	O
from	O
other	O
EU	O
countries	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
BBC	O
said	O
that	O
it	O
was	O
"	O
interested	O
in	O
being	O
able	O
to	O
allow	O
UK	O
licence	O
fee	O
payers	O
to	O
access	O
BBC	B-Application
iPlayer	I-Application
while	O
they	O
are	O
on	O
holiday	O
,	O
and	O
welcome	O
the	O
European	O
Union	O
regulation	O
to	O
help	O
make	O
this	O
feasible.	O
"	O
</s>
