In today’s world of government censorship and strict copyright legislation, more and more popular sites are blocking or restricting their content in different geo-locations. These geo-restrictions are making users in certain countries use a proxy service in order to guarantee free access to the content or sites they desire.
Let’s talk about some of the most popular and well-known sites you might need a proxy service to access.
UNBLOCK YOUTUBE
YouTube is the biggest video sharing platform, with tens of billions of users uploading and watching videos at any given moment.
Due to its growing popularity and worldwide reach, some governments around the world have implemented strict censorship of YouTube content. Content which is regarded as insulting or critical of a government, state officials, or religious beliefs, can often lead to a temporary or a permanent ban.
Some countries block specific videos, while others place a complete ban on YouTube. For example, Iran placed a ban on YouTube in December 2006, declaring it “immoral,” while Pakistan declared a block on the site in 2008 after “blasphemous videos” were uploaded. In Syria, for instance, YouTube was accessible up until 2011, but was blocked after the “Arab Spring” riots and the start of the Syrian civil war, and has remained blocked until present day.
Copyright infringement can also result in the blocking or removal of content, for instance in the US, Canada, and Germany. Between the end of March 2009 and late 2016, Germany has restricted some YouTube content for millions of users throughout the country. This was due to a dispute between the popular video sharing site and the Gesellschaft für musikalische Aufführungs- und mechanische Vervielfältigungsrechte (GEMA), a musical performance society. After agreeing to pay royalties, the YouTube content was released and is currently freely available in the European country.
UNBLOCK GOOGLE
Google is a multinational internet company, providing digital products and services from its popular online search engine to advertising, cloud storage, and more.
Despite its global reach, Google does encounter some censorship or content restrictions. During 2019, the company has received thousands of requests for content removal by courts and executive powers worldwide. Moreover, the media giant’s services are blocked or censored to some degree in several countries worldwide.
China is perhaps the best example of Google geo-restrictions. Chinese laws require Internet companies to block or remove objectionable content, such as pornography or information regarding human rights.
Initially, Google exited China back in 2010 after repeated cyberattacks and the company’s unwillingness to comply with the Chinese government’s censorship requirements. However, after a few years in 2017, Google launched a secret project developing a Chinese search engine called “Dragonfly”. This specialized search engine that filters out websites and search results about forbidden subjects like human rights or democracy.
Afterword of the secret project came out and an official US Sanat investigation was launched, Google announced it was terminating Project Dragonfly and abandoning all work on the censored search engine.
UNBLOCK NETFLIX
Netflix is an American streaming giant and production company, with subscribers and content from all over the globe. Just like any legal streaming service, Netflix has to comply with countries’ different sets of content licensing laws.
Before streaming services are allowed to launch in a certain country, they have to sign and commit to licensing agreements granting them permission to use and show copyrighted content. The agreements and licensing differ for every content or geo-location, creating often big differences in content between countries. Simply put, the shows available on Netflix in the US are different from the ones available in Spain.
In order to comply with the laws and regulations, Netflix has implemented content restrictions depending on the user’s IP address location. In theory, Netflix’s geo-blocking shouldn’t be hard to bypass by simply using a virtual private network (VPN), to mask the user’s location. However, the streaming giant has put up one of the most sophisticated VPN detection systems to make sure that doesn’t happen. So, the only option remains a good proxy service.
UNBLOCK TAMILROCKERS
TamilRockers is perhaps the biggest streaming service in India, offering its users an array of Indian television shows, movies, music, and videos. The site allows the search, streaming, and downloading of copyrighted content via magnets or torrent files. To keep up and protect content licensing, the Indian government has ordered internet service providers (ISP) to block access to the popular website.
Since TamilRockers is not legal, the site has been blocked repeatedly for Indian IPs. battling these restrictions, the site’s operators use proxy URLs for blocked content to ensure its availability. Altering the content or user IP is the only way to make sure people will be able to access, watch, or download content freely.
CONCLUSION
All of the above-mentioned sites have different uses and target audiences, but one thing they have in common is that they all have some sort of geo-location based restriction – some are sensored, some are blocked, and some deploy geo-blocking to comply with rules and regulations.
The solution to all these restrictions is using a stable and reliable proxy service.
Using GeoSurf Proxy service will grant you access to a pool of over 2 million IP addresses, allowing you to use the internet free of blocking and safe from tracking, keeping you 100% anonymous, unblockable and untraceable.
