Introduction
Online privacy is becoming an increasingly important issue as governments introduce policies that may restrict internet access, require online identity checks, or limit privacy tools. Fight for the Future, a digital rights advocacy organization, is addressing these concerns through its Defend VPNs campaign, which aims to protect people’s ability to use Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to maintain privacy and access information online.
Note: To learn more about what a VPN is and how to add a VPN Client to your home network, essentially turning it into a VPN router, see the 4-part article: Adding A VPN To A Home Network
In The Last Year:
- Utah became the first U.S. state to force websites to monitor or block all suspected VPN traffic
- Wisconsin narrowly avoided passing a VPN ban with its controversial age verification bill
- Michigan’s proposed total VPN ban remains in play
- Australian lawmakers flirted with “closing the VPN loophole,” as thousands of young people circumvented the world’s first social media ban for youth under 16
- Brazil made VPN usage an “aggravating factor” in crimes
- The UK government seriously considered a VPN ban and is still considering restricting VPN use to bypass age-gating
- Social media bans for young people went into effect in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the UAE, and were proposed in France, Massachusetts, and dozens more jurisdictions, setting the stage for even greater VPN scrutiny
What Is The Defend VPNs Campaign?
The Defend VPNs campaign raises awareness about the importance of VPNs and opposes government restrictions that could limit their use. VPNs are one of the few tools ordinary people have to protect themselves online. Without VPNs, you need to rely on whatever your government or ISP wants you to see, while everything you do is easier to trace back to you. VPNs help encrypt internet traffic and can conceal a user’s IP address from websites and other parties. VPNs are also used to access information in places where internet censorship is common.
Restricting VPNs could undermine online privacy, freedom of expression, and access to essential resources.
Day of Action
The second annual Defend VPNs Day of Action was held on Friday, September 25, 2026. The event encouraged internet users and digital rights supporters to speak out against VPN bans and policies that threaten online privacy.
According to the organization’s October 6 announcement, thousands of people participated in this year’s action. The first annual event in 2025 drew about 20,000 people, showing strong public interest in protecting privacy tools.
The campaign also drew support from VPN providers, including Surfshark, Windscribe, and Amnezia.
The campaign takes place amid growing international debate about age-verification laws, online identification requirements, and restrictions on tools that allow users to bypass censorship.
Why The Campaign Still Matters
Although the Day of Action has passed, the campaign is not over. People can still participate by learning about proposed restrictions, sharing reliable campaign information, contacting elected representatives, and supporting organizations working to protect digital rights.
Bottom Line
If online privacy is important to you, it is not too late to get involved. Banning VPNs would mean less privacy, less access, and more censorship. It is an idea that solves nothing. Banning VPNs doesn’t make the internet safer; it just makes the internet more controlled and less safe for the people who need VPNs the most.
You can sign the petition at https://www.defendvpns.com. It’s quick and easy.
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Not too surprised by this .
It’s all about being able to track individuals and collect their data, I mean all one has to do is just look at all these massive “data centers” being built everywhere.
They are not only data centers , they are a means to collect and track every movement of any individual at any given point in time , so yeah, I can absolutely see why they would want to ban vpn’s but even if that happens, there will be something else to hide your identity.