cross-posted from: https://exploding-heads.com/post/48121

In Iran, demand for VPN downloads increased by more than 3000 percent in September, according to TopVPN100.com.

Yet, other countries too have seen surges this year.

For instance, Sri Lanka saw a 17,000 percent increase in VPN downloads on April 3 2022, when social media platforms Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and WhatsApp were banned.

The internet blackout came as the government enforced a curfew, attempting to keep protesters from hitting the streets over a disastrous economic downturn, mainly attributed to governmental mishandling, which led to major food and fuel shortages.