Just realized I was wrong for thinking a VPN was just for streaming shows from other countries.

I was trying to read a news article my friend in Singapore linked me, and it was blocked, which made me finally get that these tools are about way more than watching TV and actually let people see stuff their governments don't want them to, which is a big deal for free speech everywhere.

3 comments

3 Comments

grace_johnson92mo ago

Remember when my cousin went to China for work and couldn't even check his own email. He had to get a VPN just to log into Gmail, which felt completely wild to me at the time. It really drives home that it's not just about news sites, but basic daily stuff we take for granted. Makes you appreciate the open web, even with all its garbage.

tara_williams12mo ago

Tell your cousin I feel his pain, grace_johnson9. That level of basic restriction is honestly mind-blowing. It really does make our messy internet look a lot better.

nancy_davis1mo ago

Read an article about how that kind of control shapes a whole society's view of the world. It's not just missing cat videos, it's missing entire conversations. Makes our chaotic online space seem pretty valuable in comparison.