Can countries effectively restrict access to VPNs and censor internet usage?

[Stephen Tashi]

TL;DR

Does technology exist so countries can block the use of virtual private network services (VPNs)?

A product often advertised on YouTube videos about politics is a VPN service. On thing that a VPN service supposedly does is allow you to use the internet in one country yet appear to be a user in a different country. This let's you bypass country specific restrictions. Are countries that heavily censor internet usage able to block the use of VPNs (by their residents) using technology? - i.e. by doing more than merely having laws against using them.

 

[pbuk]

Yes this technology exists. For some comments on how and why it may or may not be used see for instance https://www.travelchinacheaper.com/is-it-legal-to-use-a-vpn-in-china.

 

[sysprog]

Countries with heavy censorship are apt to have laws against using technical mechanisms that have the potential to enable circumvention of the censorship. Some of them actively seek to detect and prosecute use of VPNs for evasion of censorship. Carefully thought out use of VPNs can be made very difficult to detect $-$ even very unlikely to be detected; however, it can't be made impossible to detect $-$ risks can be minimized, but not altogether eliminated.

 

[StevieTNZ]

I believe, for example, if one travels to China, you install a VPN before arriving as a search for one using their Internet connections will basically blacklist you and stop you from proceeding.