- Surfshark reports that 4.6B people suffered from internet censorship in 2025
- Asia remains the leading region with India topping the restriction rankings
- The trend has continued into 2026, where VPN use is increasingly a target
Internet freedom took a massive hit last year, with a staggering 4.6 billion people affected by government-imposed censorship, according to new data from Surfshark.
The results from the company’s latest annual summary reveal that while 2025 began with 47 ongoing disruptions, authorities across the globe introduced 81 new restrictions during the year. This marks a worrying trend where 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 to the outside world. However, the scale of the crackdown often makes even these tools difficult to access.
“Internet shutdowns, including long-term, systemic censorship, affected 4.6 billion people by 2025, more than half of the world’s population,” said Luís Costa, head of research at Surfshark.
“Despite growing global recognition of Internet access as a basic human right, the scope and reach of digital restrictions continue to expand year after year.”
Asia leads the blackout cards
Consistent with previous years, Asia was the primary hotbed for digital censorship. The report notes that governments in 10 Asian countries introduced 56 new restrictions, affecting about 2 billion people.
India once again secured the top spot for most restrictions in the region, introducing 24 new cases in 2025, a slight increase from the previous year. It was followed by Iraq (9 cases), Afghanistan (7 cases) and Jammu & Kashmir (5 cases).
The nature of these prohibitions is also changing. By 2025, social media platforms were the target of a quarter of all restrictions. Interestingly, Telegram replaced Facebook as the most targeted platform facing restrictions from seven different governments.
While Asia and Africa (which saw 20 new cases) dominated the statistics, the West was not entirely immune. Albania imposed internet restrictions for the first time by banning TikTok for a year, a decision taken after a conflict on the platform resulted in the death of a teenager.
“Government-mandated shutdowns 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 starts with a digital blackout wave
While the 2025 data paints a bleak picture, the first two weeks of 2026 suggest the situation could worsen. The new year has already started with a wave of severe shutdowns and restrictions across the Middle East and South Asia.
On January 8, Iran plunged into near-total digital darkness. Iranians have now been offline for over 90 hours and counting amid widespread protests, with the government also reportedly targeting Starlink links. This marks Iran’s 62nd recorded case of censorship in the last decade.
“Internet restrictions in Iran reflect a growing trend of governments restricting access during political unrest, affecting security and essential information flow,” said Justas Pukys, Senior Product Manager at Surfshark.
Meanwhile, 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 grip as the government begins blocking unregistered VPN apps, leaving citizens with fewer options to access uncensored information.
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