Where VPNs Could Land You in Prison: The 2025 Global Crackdown

The $136,000 Fine Waiting for You

Imagine getting slapped with a $136,000 fine for checking your WhatsApp messages. That's not a dystopian fantasy it's reality in the United Arab Emirates if you're caught using a VPN for the "wrong" reasons. Welcome to 2025, where 4.8 billion people live under internet censorship, and 24 new internet restrictions were imposed in just the first half of the year alone.

While Americans debate whether they need VPNs, people in dozens of countries risk imprisonment, massive fines, or worse just for trying to access an open internet. The global crackdown is intensifying, and the penalties are getting harsher.

Russia's Digital Iron Curtain Slams Shut

In July 2025, Russia passed its most restrictive VPN laws yet, and the situation for VPN users is deteriorating rapidly. While VPNs technically remain legal, only government-approved services are permitted and those approved VPNs are required to block access to banned content, making them essentially useless for their intended purpose.

In December 2024, Russia disrupted internet access across multiple regions, and VPNs appeared unable to bypass the block. This was rumored to be a test of Russia's "sovereign internet" infrastructure a chilling preview of what's coming. The Kremlin shut down nine VPNs in 2019 for failing to comply with censorship demands, and in 2024, nearly 100 VPN apps were yanked from Apple's App Store for "containing content illegal in Russia."

The message is clear: a future all-out ban would not be surprising.

China's Great Firewall Gets Greater

The "Great Firewall of China" remains notoriously difficult for VPNs to bypass, and detection technology is advancing rapidly. Only government-approved VPNs are allowed, and those services are required to collect and store user activity data the exact opposite of what a VPN should do.

If you're heading to China, subscribe to a VPN before you board the plane. Once you land, many foreign VPN websites are blocked, and their apps won't appear in your app store. It's a constant cat-and-mouse game, with the government winning more rounds every year.

Myanmar's New Digital Prison

Myanmar's VPN restrictions are among the newest and most aggressive. A security law introduced in January 2025 made "unauthorized VPN installation" punishable by six months in prison or fines up to $4,750. Phone inspections and fines for having VPNs installed have been reported regularly since the ban was imposed in 2024.

The military government has severely restricted internet access as part of broader efforts to suppress dissent and control information flow.

Turkey's Political VPN Warfare

VPNs have been under attack in Turkey since 2016, when 10 providers and Tor were initially banned. Further bans occurred in 2023, but March 2025 saw a massive VPN usage spike amid political protests and social media crackdowns.

Since President Erdogan's election in 2014, censorship, internet shutdowns, and restrictions have become commonplace. The government uses deep packet inspection technologies to pinpoint and block VPN services, and even foreigners may face legal action for using VPNs. Yet despite the bans, hundreds of ordinary citizens have been imprisoned for internet-related activities.

Pakistan's Indecisive Assault

The end of 2024 and beginning of 2025 saw Pakistan's government make numerous attempts to ban VPNs entirely. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority slightly backed down following legal intervention, but the situation remains precarious.

Using a VPN for business now requires a license, and the future of personal VPNs is extremely unclear. The government's flip-flopping creates a dangerous gray area where users don't know if they're breaking the law until it's too late.

The UAE's Corporate Exemption Game

As with most countries on this list, only government-approved VPNs are legal in the UAE. Strict regulations imposed in 2012 prevent use of VoIP services like WhatsApp, Skype, and Facebook Messenger.

Here's the twist: corporate VPNs appear to face fewer restrictions. If you're found to have committed a crime using a VPN, penalties include imprisonment or fines between $41,000 and $136,000. The vague definition of what constitutes a "crime" keeps everyone on edge.

The Speed Paradox: When Freedom Meets Performance

Here's where it gets interesting. While governments crack down on VPNs, the technology itself is getting faster than ever. In 2025, top VPNs are achieving speeds that would have seemed impossible just two years ago.

ExpressVPN's new Lightway Turbo protocol hit an astonishing 1,617 Mbps in recent tests—the fastest speeds ever recorded from any VPN. Hotspot Shield maintains 99% of baseline connection speeds even on international servers. NordVPN, Surfshark, and Proton VPN all exceed 900 Mbps on recommended protocols.

The irony? The countries that need fast VPNs the most—those under heavy censorship—are the same ones making them illegal.

The Countries Where You're Completely Banned

Some nations have issued total VPN bans with zero exceptions:

North Korea prohibits VPN usage entirely and constantly monitors internet access. The country operates an intranet that allows the government to spy on people easily.

Iraq has maintained a full ban on all VPNs since 2014. No individual or corporate entity may use them, period. Being caught can result in serious legal consequences.

Turkmenistan has ISPs that block all proxies and VPNs. The country banned VPNs to censor international media, and internet service is purposefully expensive to deter usage.

Belarus bans VPNs and other anonymizing technologies completely. Using a VPN can result in fines and imprisonment, with hundreds imprisoned for internet-related activities.

The Restricted Zone: Legal with a Catch

Several countries technically allow VPNs but impose restrictions that make them nearly useless:

Iran permits only government-approved VPNs. Unauthorized use can lead to imprisonment, and the restrictions intensified after mass protests advocating for democracy.

Oman approves only a few VPN providers, mainly for corporate use. Personal VPN use is banned to prevent access to censored content. Fines reach $1,300 for violations.

Egypt experiences VPN blocks and instability, though enforcement varies.

Europe's Surprising Surveillance

Think censorship only happens in authoritarian regimes? Think again. Belarus, Turkey, and Ukraine restrict social media to some extent. During the coverage period in Belarus alone, hundreds of ordinary citizens were imprisoned and thousands faced criminal or administrative penalties for internet-related activities.

In France, a woman was arrested for insulting President Emmanuel Macron in a social media post, facing a potential €12,000 fine. In the UK, increasing numbers of people are being arrested for social media posts. France and the UK both implemented age-verification requirements for adult sites in January 2025.

Germany, the United Kingdom, Hungary, Latvia, and France were all found to have some level of surveillance or censorship across social media platforms.

The Bottom Line: Digital Freedom Is Shrinking

In 2024 alone, 4.8 billion people were impacted by internet censorship. That's more than half the world's population living under some form of digital restriction. The trend isn't slowing—it's accelerating.

If you're in a country where VPNs remain legal, consider yourself fortunate. That freedom isn't guaranteed to last. Governments worldwide are watching, learning, and implementing increasingly sophisticated methods to control what their citizens can see and say online.

The VPN wars of 2025 aren't just about technology—they're about fundamental human rights to information, expression, and privacy. Choose your VPN wisely. And if you're traveling, research the laws before you land. That $136,000 fine isn't hypothetical.