So your government just took full control of your internet and you want to get out of the walled garden.
Everyone is now talking about a VPN, they might get one or they just got one but what’s the deal? Why so much hype about VPN’s?
The simple answer is to get around the governments filtered Internet and approved content to find and access what you want to access. But a VPN doesn’t mean its the fix all to get around the government filter depending what you’re trying to access.
Services like Netflix and many other online streaming services are getting either really good at over zealous with blocking VPN’s but most social media doesn’t seem to care where you connect from. So using a VPN with social media could be common place.
How the VPN works is you find a VPN service and check their features list of what type of encryption they use and where they have servers located. To get out of the government of Canada’s great firewall of Canada you would connect to one of the servers in a different country.
Your public IP will then be that servers IP because you’re connecting to that server to be routed through that nations telecommunications network to the rest of the world wide web so don’t be alarmed if you begin to see online advertisement local to that IP address.
Now that you’re connected to your VPN and you’re surfing the net and consuming all the media, social media and entertainment you want. You’re a clever lad and you beat the government at its own game.
That could all be temporary though.
The government could catch on and demand VPN service providers to only provide Canadian IP addresses to their Canadians users.
On the extreme spectrum the government could essentially block all websites that are not run from Canadian servers and IP addresses knocking out countless amounts of services Canadians can access or social media limiting consumer choice. But that’s not expected because its trying to make online services pay a tax.
But wait just a moment, you thought Bill C-11 was overreaching on its own? There’s more legislation coming down the hatch that will give the government even more control of not just the internet but the whole telecommunications infrastructure.
This is where we run into Cyber Security Bill C-26. This is another law that will grant the government sweeping powers and control over one of the most important pieces of infrastructure in modern society while lacking accountability measures to prevent bad faith government decision making and policy.
The act is titled: An Act respecting cyber security, amending the Telecommunications Act and making consequential amendments to other Acts. BC Rise reported on Bill C-26 here.
Your Internet Providers such as Rogers, Bell, Telus etc… will be private corporations but the government will have total control over dictating network standards opening the doors to government spying including weakening online encryption, privacy and security.
It also allows the minister to create a secret order in council to force a telecommunications to boot any individual or company off their network and stop providing them with internet services. Once booted from your internet provider you will never know why because the Internet provider is held to government secrecy and can’t tell you.
