Which countries have laws that ban or restrict VPNs and Tor explicitly?
Executive summary
Multiple reporting and VPN-provider guides identify a core set of countries that either ban VPNs and Tor outright, or permit only government‑approved “anonymizers”; common names across sources include China, Belarus, North Korea, Turkmenistan, Iran, Myanmar and Iraq, with others (Russia, UAE, Oman, Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia) listed as heavily restricted or regulated [1] [2] [3] [4]. Coverage in the provided sources is a mix of summarized legal claims, timelines, and provider guidance rather than direct citations of statute texts; differences exist between sites about which places are “full bans” versus “licensed/regulated” services [4] [1] [2].
1. Countries most often identified as outright banning VPNs or Tor — the hard‑line list
Several of the aggregated guides and trackers explicitly list a short set of countries described as having full bans on unauthorized VPNs and Tor: North Korea, Turkmenistan, Belarus, Iran, Myanmar and Iraq are repeatedly named as places where VPNs/Tor are banned or made illegal without government approval [4] [2] [5]. These sources say enforcement ranges from heavy technical blocking to criminal penalties; for example, Belarus is described as having outlawed “anonymizers” including Tor and VPNs in 2015, and Myanmar is reported in some timelines to formalize bans under cybersecurity laws by 2025 [2] [6].
2. Countries that permit only state‑approved VPNs or heavily regulate the market
China is consistently described as permitting only government‑licensed VPN services while blocking or shutting down unlicensed providers; Proton VPN’s explainer notes that unlicensed services are closed or blocked and that China has gone the farthest on this approach [1]. Similar “licensed only” or registration regimes are reported for some other states where VPNs are not technically illegal for all users but are effectively constrained by law and enforcement [3] [6].
3. Countries with heavy technical blocking, fines or conditional legality
A larger group is identified by multiple sources as places where VPNs are legal in principle but subject to blocking, disruption, penalties for certain uses, or active efforts to block providers: Russia, Turkey, Egypt, Uzbekistan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Oman are described in guides as either “heavily blocked,” requiring registration, or subject to fines for misuse [4] [3] [7]. Russia is noted for blocking specific VPN providers and seeking to restrict anonymizers, and the UAE is cited for heavy penalties tied to circumvention for banned content [4] [3].
4. Tor-specific notes and country examples
Tor receives special callouts: Belarus is stated to have banned Tor alongside VPNs [2], Turkey has historically blocked Tor at times [8], and Russia has banned specific Tor services and some VPN providers per enforcement actions referenced in the Tor project / Wikipedia summary [8]. The sources show Tor is treated as part of the same “anonymizer” category in many jurisdictions [1] [8].
5. Where sources disagree or are cautious — why lists vary
The guides are not uniform: some (Rider Chris, WhatIsMyIPAddress, VPN.com) label Myanmar, Iran, Turkmenistan, North Korea, Oman and Belarus as “full bans” while others emphasize China’s “licensed provider” model and still others separate technical blocking from explicit criminalization [4] [2] [3]. Differences stem from mixed evidence types (news reports, provider guidance, policy timelines) and varying definitions of “ban” — technical blocking, criminal penalties for use, or prohibition of unlicensed providers are often conflated [1] [6].
6. Limitations in the available reporting and what’s not in these sources
The provided sources are secondary guides and compilations rather than primary legal texts; they summarize laws and enforcement but do not consistently cite statutes or official government publications. Therefore, available sources do not mention the exact statutory language, current penalty schedules, or up‑to‑the‑moment enforcement practices for every listed country — readers seeking precise legal status should consult the official laws or in‑country legal counsel [1] [6]. Where a source says a country “banned” VPNs in a given year, the underlying legal instrument is not always reproduced in these excerpts [4] [2].
7. Practical context and competing perspectives
VPN providers and privacy outlets frame these policies as censorship and privacy regressions; government‑facing explanations in some countries justify controls on grounds of national security, crime prevention, or preserving cultural order [1] [7]. At the same time, provider guides emphasize technical countermeasures (obfuscation, bridges) and traveler cautions — a practical orientation rather than a legal ruling [3] [2].
If you want a precise, country‑by‑country legal table with statutory citations and current penalty amounts drawn from government texts, say so and I will compile one using the same sources or request additional primary legal documents.