VPN use is soaring in Mauritius amid the social media shutdown ahead of the elections
People in Mauritius have turned to the best VPN apps in droves as authorities enforced a widespread social media shutdown ahead of the general election.
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and TikTok all went dark on Friday, November 1, 2024 – internet watchdog NetBlocks was able to confirm (see tweet below). The blockade is expected to last until November 11, the day after the vote. This forces users to find a solution to continue accessing these services.
“People have been rushing to download Proton VPN since early this morning when the social media ban came into effect, and we expect they will continue to use VPNs heavily until at least November 11 when the ban will be lifted,” says David Peterson, General Manager of Proton VPN, told me.
⚠️ Confirmed: Statistics show multiple social media platforms restricted in #Mauritius; the incident comes as authorities order ISPs to suspend access until after the elections later this month on national security grounds following the leak of “certain” audio clips pic.twitter.com/mRGqlR4XsuNovember 1, 2024
Peterson said the provider has so far recorded a spike in usage of 16,000% above normal levels – and it is “growing rapidly”. Show other data VPN demand across the country is 16,107% higher than the daily average of the previous 28 days.
Authorities ordered the blocking to stop the spread of illegal content.threaten national security and public safety.”
The country has recently been rocked by a wiretapping scandal, in which sensitive conversations between politicians, police, lawyers, journalists and members of civil society were leaked onto social media – Reuters reported this.
Digital rights strongly condemns this move and urges the government of Mauritius, which is conducting its first internet shutdown, to end the ongoing crackdown on social media.
“This shutdown is a gross violation of national and international human rights frameworks and must not continue,” wrote the #KeepItOn coalition, a global network of more than 334 human rights organizations from 105 countries committed to ending the shutdown. internet. open letter.
How a VPN can help
A VPN, short for Virtual Private Network, is security software whose primary purpose is to keep you anonymous while browsing the Internet by encrypting all your Internet connections to prevent third-party snooping.
At the same time, VPNs also mask your real IP address location. IP spoofing is not only beneficial from a privacy perspective, but it also gives you access to otherwise geo-restricted content.
People in Mauritius can then connect to a VPN server located outside the country to bypass the current blockade and continue using social media platforms as usual.
As Peterson explains, the provider has enabled a number of free election servers in Mauritius as part of its election support initiative. “We will continue to operate these servers for as long as citizens need them to circumvent internet censorship,” he said.
This year, democracy is on the ballot. More than 60 countries – home to half the world’s population – will hold national elections in 2024. To ensure everyone has access to accurate information before casting their vote, we’re offering free #ProtonVPN servers in countries with… pic.twitter. com/Vlgt6yVukXMarch 6, 2024
As I write this, people living in another African country are fighting a similar bloc. Such as Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp everything went dark in Mozambique just a day before the mobile data disruptions that happened the week before. These incidents coincide with a wave of violent protests contesting the election results.
“There, we recorded an 8,790% sign-up spike on October 30, and currently nine of the top ten apps in the Mozambique Google Play Store are VPNs,” said Peterson.
If you need a way to access the open web and bypass internet restrictions, I recommend checking out our best free VPN guide to get the most secure free app today.