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ChineseWhen almost every spot in this earth has been connected to the web, we feel most grateful for things we can do. We can access any information we want. Things that used to be available physically can now be downloaded over the web. Everything has become easier than before. Everyone is feeling more relieved. The web has changed our life. It makes better. It makes it easier for everyone. At least, the web has given us something we don’t have in the real world: online freedom.
But, perhaps, it is us that are so curious. Is being easier, the only thing that the web changes? What if there was something else? What if it changed something in our life, something we don’t recognize? What if it was not a change? What if the web took something from our life, instead of giving it?
Recently, I read a fascinating book on how our life should be. It speaks about how things around us can be illusions. It means things may not as good as they appear to be. From the look of it, we believe it’s real. It gives us every reason to believe it’s real. But, after reading the book, I just realized that perhaps those things are not real. I tried to reflect on the best discovery we ever made: internet. We believe the web is our top-notch discovery. Without it, we can’t reach everything we have today. It gives us the freedom to bring our dreams come true. However, I just wonder, do these things real? Do internet just give us our freedom? Does online freedom really exist on the web?
Some of you would not care reading the rest of this article because you believe it’s useless. Some of us believe we are the master of the internet. We can use it for anything, even playing games we love (DotA, League of Legends etc.) and watching movies (like Amazon Fire TV). We believe we control the web and everything on it. But, do we?
Do we actually have online freedom?
To answer this question, I’d like to show you how things go in the real life. Today, everything has changed from the first day we invented the web. This global network does not belong to government, military, or other secret agencies. The web belongs to people now. No one can take your right to access the web. You can access it wherever you are, without no one telling you not to do it. Until this point, many people believe we’ve gained our true freedom: online freedom. If no one forbids us to access the web, doesn’t it mean we have finally reached our freedom? What else do we need?
First, let me tell you what I think. Accessing the web is important. There’s nothing we can do without it. It’s the door that unlocks every possibility we have today. But, is it enough? Is accessing the web is enough? Can accessing the web define the whole meaning of online freedom?
NO. For me, for VPN Asia, the most important thing is not about accessing the web. That’s a fake online freedom. The most important thing is we control our browsing activities. At VPN Asia, we put our faith in how every person on this planet should control his/her own browsing activities. That means no person, government, agency, or anything should watch your back.
This is our dream. Is this dream too difficult to realize? I’m afraid not. This is our basic need as a person. This is our right. Losing it means losing part of our humanity. Losing our online freedommeans we lose another reason for being a complete human. That’s why we fight for this right. That’s why we fight against our governments, that believe privacy can be sacrificed for ‘greater goods.’
These governments are our worst enemy. In fact, they are our arch enemies. So, who are they?
Six Arch Enemies of Online Freedom
Turkey
Different governments have different rules and goals when they chose to censor the web. Let’s take Turkey for example. This country is an active member of NATO and well-functioning democracy. In addition to that, Turkey is also trying to become member of the European Union. So, how do these things affect the government rules and goals in internet censorship?
Simple. It censors any content it deems necessary.
That’s no joke. Turkey is serious about ‘protecting’ its citizens and national security. There is no online freedom when it comes to these goals. Not even social media can escape. Public getting panic because of recent terrorist attack? That won’t happen in Turkey. Try spread a news about something that will cause public panic and your post (at least) will be blocked. This could be as simple as sharing a bombing image (even a blurred one) on any social media.
Here is another example. In March 2014, Turkey government decided to ban Twitter after government scandals began to leak on this social media. Same thing happened with YouTube. It went black after a YouTube user posted a hate video, mocking the founder of modern Turkey.
China
China loves to play straight. Instead of monitoring conversation across all social media, it chooses to block all major social media. Chinese government believe that Google, YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook were used by protesters to coordinate their attacks against the government. These protests were terrorizing people and, therefore, harmful to the state. Any single idea that confronts the current regulation is considered an act against the state and its people. All secrets are subject to the government cause. This huge amount of internet censorship in China is thrilling. It is far worse than anyone can imagine. Nothing can escape from this Great Firewall of China, not even online freedom.
North Korea
You think China is the worst for social media? Well, we have something worse for you: North Korea. It’s not just a place where your posts and account will be blocked. In North Korea, social media simply can’t exist. Why? It’s not because the government hates social media. It’s because it hates everything coming from the outside. The only way social media can exist in North Korea is by coming from the inside. I can’t even consider that as online freedom. What do you think?
Pakistan, Vietnam, and Iran
People in Iran, Vietnam, and Pakistan suffer the same fate. Unless you have VPN, you can’t use any social media. That’s how simple and annoying it works. I don’t have any better words to describe than these two.
These countries use deep packet inspection to ensure nothing can get through their blockade. It is a pretty advanced technique widely used to censor content, monitor traffic, collect user data, and target ads. Simply put, it can be used to know everything about you and control your browsing activities. It is a perfect tool to reduce your online freedom to dust.
Re-claim Your Online Freedom with VPN Asia
VPN Asia has engineered the best stealth technology to keep you anonymous on the web. You can mask your IP and change your location with ease. Not even us or your government can know your real location. In fact, no one will even know you’re there, browsing your favorite content. Rest assured your online freedom is always at top priority with us. Combined with more than 240 servers around the world, VPN Asia is your best way to get a fast, encrypted, secure, and uncensored access to any content on the web.