Can a Country Ban VPNs?

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On 8th September 2023, the Ummah Party (Partai Ummat) made a promise to ban VPNs if they won the upcoming 2024 election. But can a democratic country like Indonesia make such a move? Considering the function and advantages of having VPNs, especially for cyber security services and matters is crucial. This article will discuss and answer the possibility of Indonesia banning VPNs.

What is the deal?

The leader of the Ummah Party, Amien Rais on his Twitter announced that they will ban VPNs if they win the 2024 election. The main reason for his decision is to stop the pornography problem in Indonesia. Amein Rais is not the first man to announce the idea of banning VPNs in order to eliminate pornography, as the idea has been thrown around and around for so long in the nation.

Is it effective?

Banning VPNs to battle pornography is not effective. For people who do not understand the internet and technology, it might stop them from accessing pornography content, but for people who understand, changing their DNS can solve this issue immediately (check out our other article that discussed VPN and DNS). A piece of article titled “No porn please, we’re British” from New Scientist journal and written by James Ball argued that banning VPN would not be effective if other social platforms do not act in the same manner. Porn content is allowed on Twitter and Reddit, and other messaging applications also allow it.

The previous Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Johnny G. Plate also stated that it is impossible to ban VPNs because it is a private matter of each individual. Banning VPNs will also start a war declaration from organizations that utilize VPNs every day for their work. VPNs can be used to access servers remotely, and this is important for many organizations, such as companies, educational purposes, or government agencies.

Can Indonesia ban VPNs?

The real answer is no, but the far-stretched answer is yes, the government can do it. Back in 2019, during the mass protest that took place in Papua, the government decided to shut down the internet, this is proof of the power that they own. However banning VPNs is a completely different matter, as it will have a huge impact on the nation’s economy and security.

Non-democracy countries like China and Russia are easier when it comes to banning private matters like VPNs, but a democratic country like Indonesia will make it harder for the government. But one democratic country named Iran has been a hot case recently when it comes to VPNs and restrictions. Let’s talk about the Iran case.

The Iran case

Similar to what has been mentioned above, Iran since 2022 has been under internet restrictions, just like what had happened in Papua. The restrictions cause many services, such as Twitter become inaccessible in that country. To bypass the restrictions, some Iranians use VPNs as the solution to the restrictions.

In 2013, the government of Iran ordered an issue to block all VPN services that are not “government-approved”. Basically, it means that international services VPNs need to compromise with what the government of Iran wants its people to be able to access. Again, similar to what the Ummah Part envisioned, the Iranian government’s goal is to limit Iranian access to immoral or against Islamic principles content.

An Iranian has used 10 VPNs so far.

Quoted from Euronews, Darya, an Iranian student from Tehran University stated that she has used 10 VPNs so far. This is because not all VPNs work in Iran, as they need to be regulated by the government. So Iranians who want access to the internet need to use a random VPN from a less-known brand that managed to escape the Iranian government’s sight.

It is important to learn that the internet is messy–not in a bad way–it means that it is impossible to shut down VPN services entirely in a nation. A person can always come up with a dedicated server and launch their own VPN services. The Iranian government’s action to stop Iranians from accessing VPNs is like trying to take out all the salts from an ocean.

Illegalization of VPN is not an answer.

Blocking services or applications is never the right answer to solve a problem. Someone will find a way to penetrate the blockage, and it will be a repeating pattern–neverending. Blocking VPNs is also not a great long-term solution because it will impact business, education, and so on. If blocking VPNs is the only way for a government to solve the nation’s problem, then they are also accountable for providing a proper solution for those who will be affected by the blockage.

Read our other works:

• What is Printer Hacking? Get to Know Printer Hacking and How to Protect Your Company
• Are We Experiencing Cybersecurity Expert Shortage?
• Which One Do You Need, VPN or DNS?

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