Can Uganda’s Government Really Block VPN Access?

The past week has been an interesting one, while the rest of the world was winding down on tech-tober the Ugandan government said that they are going to block VPN access to curb the people that are using it to avoid paying social media tax. While most of us laughed at this suggestion it begged the important question which is, Can the government actually block VPN access?

The simple answer to that question is yes. The government can block VPN access rendering all the VPN apps on people’s apps useless, however, pulling off such a huge task does not come without challenges and a catch…a huge catch.

Some countries around the world have tried and actually succeeded in blocking VPN access in their countries. Countries like China, Syria and Russia have all tried and in a way succeeded in blocking VPN access. Stopping nationals from accessing foreign sites.

However, like all things tech, if it can be done, it can also be undone and there are individuals that have bypassed the VPN blockage and have made their methods public once you know where to look.

So in a way, even if VPN access were to be blocked, there is still a way to bypass the blockage and enjoy uninterrupted VPN access. Earlier I mentioned that with blocking VPN, there is a catch and this is it. In the process of blocking VPN access, the government runs the risk of blocking the access to sites that we were able to use without VPN access.

What this means is that while the government wants to make sure you can’t access social media sites using VPN, they could in the process make it impossible for you to access some other sites. There is no telling which sites could be affected, but it could be anything from your email service to the online registration system for universities or even your favourite news site.

Read: WhatsApp Wants to Put Ads in Your Status

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