Proton VPN team up with Deutsche Welle to fight back against online censorship
Users of Proton VPN, one of the best VPN services out there, now have more ways to fight back against online censorship – without having to pay for it.
Switzerland-based Proton VPN partnered with the German media outlet Deutsche Welle (opens in new tab) to provide people worldwide with direct access to reliable and independent news content.
Specifically, the Virtual Private Network provider has rolled out a series of dedicated servers that are optimized to provide fast access to DW websites and video content when it is censored. In fact, these are available to both free and paid subscribers across all desktop and mobile apps.
This collaboration, a first of its kind, is just the latest in a long list of Proton VPN’s ongoing commitment to promoting a free and secure internet for all.
We team up with @DeutscheWelle to defend independent media around the world. Now all #ProtonVPN users can bypass government censorship and connect to #DeutscheWelle news sites through dedicated high-speed servers. Read more about this here: https://t.co/81tJ8dlCzP#vpn pic.twitter.com/FuNpparLyPMarch 6, 2023
Unblocking “access to the truth” worldwide.
“Free access to information is under attack on a scale we’ve never seen before”said Andy Yen (opens in new tab), founder and CEO at Proton. He continued: “DW has a long history of defending free speech, just like Proton VPN, and we look forward to working together to unblock access to truth around the world.”
A Proton spokesperson explained to TechRadar that these dedicated servers provide consumers of DW content, in countries subject to censorship, with the speed and security of Proton’s paid VPN servers – while remaining completely free. Countries where the media outlet is currently banned include Turkey and Russia.
To access and use the servers, users must first download the Proton app for desktop or mobile. Typing “news” into the server’s search bar brings up a list of servers marked with a DW logo – regardless of whether you’re using the paid or free VPN service. Users can choose from servers in the US, the Netherlands or Japan.
This partnership demonstrates both companies’ commitment to defending freedom of expression worldwide; giving people access to the information they need without censorship or surveillance.
There are three easy steps to access and use the servers:
- To download the Proton app for desktop or mobile.
- Find a server by typing “news” in the search bar.
- Connect to one of the servers with a DW logo.
It doesn’t matter whether you use Proton’s paid or free VPN service, users can choose from dedicated DW servers in the US, the Netherlands and Japan.
This partnership demonstrates both companies’ commitment to defending the right to freedom of expression worldwide; giving people access to the information they need without censorship or surveillance.
“We are thrilled to partner with a company as committed as we are at DW to protecting the online privacy of activists, journalists and others while providing them free, unrestricted access to the open internet”says Guido Baumhauer (opens in new tab)Managing Director Distribution, Marketing and Technology at DW.
He also praised the way Proton VPN handles user data, according to very high security standards, as another reason to partner with the Swiss-based provider.
Proton has a long history of promoting internet freedom. This includes a new obfuscated (stealth) VPN protocol to circumvent censorship, and alternate routing via the Secure Core technology, in addition to a full-fledged privacy ecosystem; consisting of a secure and encrypted email service, storage and calendar.
When asked about future initiatives, a Proton spokesperson told TechRadar: “We cannot say whether this will extend to other media organizations in the future, but what we can say is that we are fully committed to ensuring that as many people as possible around the world have free access to the internet and are free from censorship and surveillance. can bypass”.
We hope that more VPN providers will follow suit to support freedom of speech and protect both truth seekers and journalists around the world.
