Recently, Americans have experienced increased internet censorship, a phenomenon more common in other countries. A brief ban on TikTok's apps and services earlier this month affected over a hundred million American users. Several states have also enacted bans on TikTok or adult content websites like Pornhub.
As new federal and state laws are implemented, Americans may turn to tools like proxying and content mirroring to circumvent censorship. These methods have been crucial for internet freedom under authoritarian regimes. The effectiveness of these tools will depend on the technical and legal details of how site bans are enforced in the US.
A Virtual Private Network (VPN) allows users to access the internet from different locations, hiding their IP addresses and identities. VPNs are used by individuals accessing restricted sites due to state bans or licensing restrictions. However, while VPNs can hide user activity from ISPs, they require trust in the VPN provider's privacy protections.
Multi-hop or "onion routing" enhances privacy by sending requests through multiple networks or nodes, further obscuring user identity. This method makes it harder for websites or regulators to trace requests back to users.
Content mirroring involves copying banned content onto accessible channels. When popular websites like Wikipedia are blocked, users often create mirror sites that remain available. Governments attempt to block these mirrors but face challenges due to their adaptability.
Other techniques like domain fronting and encrypted DNS help bypass network-level censorship by governments. However, these methods may not be applicable when US laws target hosting companies directly rather than at the network level.
"Banning particular apps is a well-known tactic in many authoritarian regimes," with countries having previously banned apps such as TikTok, Twitter/X, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Signal. Recently passed US state laws have imposed website restrictions amounting to blocks, especially for adult content sites.
While TikTok's law does not criminalize accessing its servers via existing apps or browsers, it effectively bans the service by restricting hosting services or app distribution by other companies. In response, TikTok plans to implement geoblocking for US-based users.
US-based TikTok users might use similar methods as those evading blocks under authoritarian censorship or copyright restrictions. VPNs offer privacy by hiding IP addresses but require trust in providers due to potential privacy risks. Additional proxy hops like onion routing provide further protection against single-party surveillance attempts.
