Not all countries will allow you to use the virtual private network in their jurisdiction. In fact, there are some ultra-conservative countries that might put you in jail or even apply capital punishment just for using a private connection service. That being the case, you have to always be aware of the legality of VPN in your country before trying to use this service. This is not to scare you or even discourage you from using the private network service. This is to protect you and provide you the necessary information before attempting to use any type of virtual private network service whether it is free or paid.
However, you have to understand that the number of countries that consider VPN to be illegal is actually very small, probably less than 10 countries all over the world. On the other hand, the majority of countries around the world will allow you to use any type of private connection without any problem. To give you more information on this matter, here are the various VPN laws across the world that you might want to know:
1. China
With billions of citizens in China, it is important for you to know how the government of this country manage to keep their citizens in control. By controlling the way they access the internet, the government has managed to keep the citizens in order. In China, there is something called the Great Firewall that prevents any citizen from accessing certain websites. Generally, the regular citizens are discouraged from using private network connections, while the businesses need to obtain a permission to use the VPN if they want to. Individual users can use the private connection without problem as long as the region where they live doesn’t enforce the private connection laws on their local citizens.
2. Russia
Russia began to follow the Chinese government in their VPN blockade, but they are not as restrictive as the Chinese government. While some VPN providers are banned from Russia, there are still plenty of ways to bypass the censorship by using other reputable services. Users might not be encouraged to use private connection, but the laws are not quite restrictive, as many Russian citizens still use VPN services without problems.
3. Saudi Arabia
In Saudi Arabia, they have restrictions to use VPN services for the purpose of using some third-party telecommunication software or apps. For instance, if you use VPN for Skype in Saudi Arabia, you might be persecuted by the government for attempting to bypass the country’s telecommunication providers and use third-party software instead. Some VPN services are banned in this country, and this country is one of the strictest countries that punish the users of VPN services.
4. North Korea
North Korea is known for its restrictive regime or government, which puts all citizens in check. In this country, internet is still considered a rare sight to behold. In other words, the majority of the people don’t use internet, so it means that they might not know anything about VPN. However, if you are a traveler in this country, using a VPN is allowed and you can use it to bypass censored websites without problems. However, the North Korea government will put lots of tracking and monitoring for locals who want to access the internet with VPN, and you absolutely cannot access the sites that contain pornography, South Korean-related media, and Bible-related content.
5. Iran
It’s very difficult to access the VPN server in this country simply because the Iranian government shuts down all the ports connected to any private server. In other words, most of VPN services are not available in this country. Only a handful VPN services can be used in this country, which can bypass such port-blocking activity. But, VPN is strictly illegal in this country, and you might go to jail just for using the private network service.
6. UAE
Generally, private connection is allowed in this country. However, you can’t use VPN for illegal activities as it will give you more charges if you were caught by the government. This restriction applies only for individuals. However, the business institutions can use VPN services without any restrictions.
7. Rest Of The World
Aside from those countries, most countries in the world don’t have any restrictions on using any private connection. In Western countries, for instance, you can access any website that you want even without using any private connection. So, if you are living in the majority of countries across the world, it will be fine for you to use any VPN services.
Those are the various VPN laws across the world that you might want to know. Beware that if you plan on traveling in the countries where VPN is strictly prohibited, you have to understand the local laws before attempting to use any type of private connection service.