Where VPN is Illegal

A VPN is illegal in some countries, but that rule may not apply to foreigners...

Where VPN is Illegal

In most countries of the world, using a VPN is perfectly legal. After all, we’re talking about a piece of software that you’re running on your own computer, smartphone or tablet. But, the situation gets more complicated in certain countries which like to control what their constituents are reading, listening and watching online — and across all other media (not just the internet).

So we can’t give you a straight “yes” or “no” answer for the entire planet. We can, however, try to provide you with some guidelines, like where you can use VPN without any worries and where you have to hide it.

Chinese people shouldn’t be using a VPN

China is fining its citizens who are caught using a VPN. That, however, hasn’t stopped people from turning to VPNs in order to access popular social media services, major global news sites, video streaming services and so on. Nonetheless, the practice is not legal in the world’s most populous country, but that rule — from what we’ve understood — doesn’t apply to foreigners.

So, if you plan to visit, say, Beijing – make sure to have a VPN app running on all your devices before hitting the ground. Otherwise, it may be hard to install it later on. Heck, you may not be able to download VPN software once you’re in China. And you do want to keep up with your friends on Facebook, don’t you?

Using a VPN in Turkey could turn you into a “person of interest”

Right now, hundreds of thousands of websites are inaccessible in Turkey, with citizens and foreigners turning to VPNs to access the Western media as well as some of the popular social media sites that have been banned in the country.

The problem is that the use of a VPN can turn some people into a “person of interest” in the eyes of law enforcement agencies. However, it is worth adding that nobody had so far been punished just for using VPNs, but the use of such internet tools had been among the political reasons for going after some foreigners — according to digital rights activist Isik Mater.

In fact, this was one of the reasons for Germany’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs to issue a warning for its citizens traveling to Turkey, saying they could face legal action for using VPNs in the country. The Ministry also cautioned that the digital networks were strictly monitored by the Turkish government to control the flow of information.

So, we could say VPNs are semi-legal in Turkey. You can download them, but you may not want to use them — at least not those that can be detected by ISPs.

The situation is similar in a few other countries

We have already previously talked about high-censorship countries where you literally *must* turn to a VPN in order to get your “daily fix” of the internet. In those places, you can hardly reach the Western media and many other popular websites without a VPN.

We’re talking about places such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, North Korea, Russia and so on — where the use of VPN may also not be legal.

The problem is that in some countries — such as Iran, Russia, China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates — using a VPN is illegal. However, those — and many other bans for that matter — may not necessarily apply to foreigners. Rather, they are made for the local population.

Nevertheless, the impact of some bans such as those imposed by the Great Firewall of China affects everyone in China, not just the local population. But with a good VPN, you can bypass those restrictions.

But you should behave properly…

Even when you install a VPN, you should behave properly. The fact that no one knows what you’re doing online doesn’t mean you should wreak havoc.

One of the key points of using a VPN is to secure your communication, so it’s not nice (to say the least) to make a mess for other people.

Specifically, VPNs should not be used for distributing internet viruses, gaining illegal access to other computers or networks, IP spoofing and copyright, trademark, and patent infringement.

With top VPNs not logging what you’re doing online — due to their zero-log policies — it is hard for them to prevent you from doing this. That being said, you should know what’s right and what’s wrong, and act accordingly. After all, the point is to treat other people (and organizations) the way we want to be treated. Or that’s just me…

Final word

There is no simple answer to the question of whether using a VPN is legal or not. In the Western hemisphere, you can install whatever you want on your own computer. On the other hand, there could be some sanctions in certain parts of the world but even there, chances are foreigners are good to go with any related regulation(s) mostly applying to the local population. Nonetheless, you should be careful and have a VPN running on all your devices before hitting the ground in a foreign country.

A good VPN will keep you protected while allowing you to browse the internet in its entirety. In addition, it will also let you access popular streaming services, download and upload files via BitTorrent, and so on. Whatever you do online, your identity will remain anonymous with a VPN hiding your whereabouts from prying eyes, such as major corporations and various government agencies…

If you still don’t have a VPN, start by checking our list of Best of the Best VPNs and take it from there. You know it’s worth it. 😉