Turkey is moving to make anonymous VPN use illegal, and Proton VPN signups in the country have doubled as word spreads. The Turkish government’s plan, reported by local outlet Yeni Şafak, would outlaw unlicensed VPN services and require any approved provider to log what users do and turn those records over to Turkish authorities on request.
A VPN that logs and reports isn’t really a VPN. It’s a second surveillance pipe pointed at the same people the government already watches.
Officials describe the measures as part of a package aimed at protecting children after school attacks in Şanlıurfa and Kahramanmaraş, with attackers reportedly drawn to violent mobile games. Packaged alongside the VPN clampdown are parent-controlled “child SIM” lines and a cap on how many mobile numbers a single person can register.
The child-protection wrapper is the sweetener, because the actual infrastructure being built, licensed VPN providers that log and disclose, reaches every adult in the country, not just children playing shooters on their phones.
Hellbound and Down 