Internet filtering in 2026 varies enormously by country — from Brazil’s essentially open network to China’s Great Firewall with layered DPI, active probing, and continuous fingerprint updates. This cornerstone maps 14 countries where AnyProxy sees regular traffic, covering what specifically gets blocked, which technical mechanism enforces the block, and which countermeasure works in practice.
Users are responsible for compliance with local law. This is a technical description, not legal advice.
China (Great Firewall)
Blocked: Google, YouTube, Instagram, X, Facebook, WhatsApp, ChatGPT, Wikipedia (partial), Reddit, Discord, and thousands of Western services. Full country matrix on /unblock/from/china/.
How: All four filter layers active simultaneously — DNS poisoning, IP blocking on known service ranges, DPI protocol fingerprinting, TLS SNI inspection. Consumer VPN protocols (WireGuard, OpenVPN, IKEv2) get identified within days. Active probing of suspicious connections that survive DPI.
What works: Obfuscated tunnels (Shadowsocks, V2Ray, Trojan) survive best. Web proxies over HTTPS to mainstream domains work because blocking all HTTPS to those domains would break too much of the normal web. China-specific WhatsApp deep-dive covers the concrete flow.
Iran
Blocked: Instagram (since 2022 protests), YouTube (since 2009), Facebook, X, ChatGPT (partial), Telegram (partial), WhatsApp (partial), Reddit, Discord, BBC, most Western media. Full matrix on /unblock/from/iran/.
How: DNS poisoning, IP blocking, DPI, TLS SNI inspection. Additionally some ISPs implement traffic-pattern fingerprinting that identifies specific platform request patterns even inside VPN tunnels. IRGC-linked infrastructure is more aggressive than pure regulator enforcement.
What works: Web proxies to Frankfurt region are the most-used countermeasure among Iranian AnyProxy users (proven by traffic data — YouTube-from-Iran and Instagram-from-Iran are our two highest-converting site×country combinations). Obfuscated VPN tunnels are the other reliable option. See best-proxies-in-iran ranking.
Russia (Roskomnadzor)
Blocked: Instagram, Facebook, X (since 2022 escalation), some VPN provider domains. Full matrix on /unblock/from/russia/.
How: DNS filtering at ISP level, IP blocking on major services, DPI fingerprinting of VPN protocols since 2022. Consumer WireGuard and OpenVPN often get identified and dropped.
What works: Obfuscated VPN, web proxies over HTTPS to mainstream domains. See ChatGPT-from-Russia deep-dive for the OpenAI-side region-block interaction with Roskomnadzor.
Turkey (BTK)
Blocked: Wikipedia (fully blocked 2017-2020, currently restored but intermittent), X, YouTube, and various news sites face repeated restrictions during political events. Full matrix on /unblock/from/turkey/.
How: DNS-based blocking at ISP level is the default. IP-level and DPI escalation during politically sensitive periods.
What works: Public DNS (1.1.1.1) sometimes defeats the DNS-only phase; web proxies handle escalated blocks. VPNs work when not specifically targeted.
Pakistan (PTA)
Blocked: YouTube (blocked nationwide multiple times), TikTok (blocked and unblocked repeatedly), X (partial), Wikipedia (past blocks). Full matrix on /unblock/from/pakistan/.
How: DNS filtering at ISP level implemented via the Internet Monitoring System (IMS). Increasing DPI adoption. PTA has warned that unregistered VPNs may be restricted.
What works: Web proxies over HTTPS to mainstream domains face less scrutiny than protocol-fingerprinted VPNs. See /vs/proxy-vs-vpn-at-work/ — corporate-filter dynamics apply similarly to Pakistani ISP-level filters.
Indonesia (Kominfo)
Blocked: Site-specific enforcement under PSE (Private Electronic System Operator) rules — Reddit, Netflix, TikTok have had temporary nationwide blocks. School and workplace filters more common than national blocks. Full matrix on /unblock/from/indonesia/.
How: DNS-based at ISP level (Telkomsel, IndiHome, XL, Indosat). Underlying sites stay online — just unreachable via default network path.
What works: Almost anything — Indonesian filter is DNS-only for most cases. Public DNS, web proxy, VPN all work. Indonesian audience makes up our second-largest cluster after Iran; the /id/ localised subtree covers this market.
Saudi Arabia (CITC)
Blocked: VoIP (WhatsApp calls, FaceTime), Discord (intermittent), gaming platforms occasionally. Content filter covers material deemed against public morality. Full matrix on /unblock/from/saudi-arabia/.
How: DNS-based blocking plus DPI-based content-category enforcement. Duopoly ISPs (STC, Mobily, Zain — plus smaller players) enforce uniformly.
What works: VPNs and web proxies. The specific VoIP-blocking targeted at WhatsApp calls has been eased in recent years for tourism reasons.
UAE (TRA)
Blocked: WhatsApp voice/video calls, FaceTime, other VoIP. Content filter under TRA policy. Full matrix on /unblock/from/uae/.
How: DNS + DPI. Etisalat and du enforce uniformly. Heavier scrutiny on VoIP protocols than general web.
What works: VPNs (though technically restricted under UAE cybercrime law) and web proxies. Users are responsible for compliance with local law.
Egypt (NTRA)
Blocked: Hundreds of news, human-rights, and circumvention-tool sites. VoIP throttled. ChatGPT was initially blocked before being restored. Full matrix on /unblock/from/egypt/.
How: DNS blocks and DPI. VoIP throttling on some services.
What works: VPN and web proxy both. Political sensitivity varies over time.
Vietnam
Blocked: Facebook slowed during politically sensitive periods (rather than outright blocked). Targeted content takedowns under 2018 Cybersecurity Law. Full matrix on /unblock/from/vietnam/.
How: Targeted DNS blocks and content-level throttling. Backbone-level filtering coordinated centrally.
What works: Web proxy and VPN both work; the filter is not aggressive enough to fingerprint protocols.
Thailand
Blocked: Modest set under Computer Crime Act — primarily lèse-majesté content. Most social platforms accessible. Full matrix on /unblock/from/thailand/.
How: DNS-based filtering focused on specific URLs.
What works: Almost anything. Thai filter is one of the lightest in the region.
Nigeria
Blocked: X was blocked nationwide for seven months in 2021, since restored. Periodic restrictions on messaging apps. Full matrix on /unblock/from/nigeria/.
How: ISP-level DNS enforcement under NCC directives. Inconsistent — some ISPs block, others do not.
What works: Public DNS, web proxy, VPN.
India
Blocked: TikTok (permanent since 2020), state-level exam-window content restrictions, court-ordered specific-URL takedowns. Full matrix on /unblock/from/india/.
How: ISP-level DNS filtering under DoT (Department of Telecommunications) advisories. Heavier scrutiny during exam windows and specific court orders.
What works: Web proxy, VPN. Most India-blocked content is DNS-only.
Brazil
Blocked: Rarely at national level — court orders periodically restrict WhatsApp, Telegram, X for short windows. School and corporate networks filter more actively. Full matrix on /unblock/from/brazil/.
How: Local (institution / ISP peak-hour throttling) rather than national.
What works: Basic countermeasures. Brazil is one of the most-open networks in this cornerstone.
Pattern across regimes
Three patterns emerge from the country-by-country comparison:
Filter sophistication correlates with political sensitivity. China, Iran, Russia — all four filter layers active. Brazil, Thailand — minimal filtering. The heavier the political stakes, the more layers active.
Consumer VPNs get targeted first, obfuscated tunnels survive longer. In DPI-heavy countries, generic VPN protocols get fingerprinted within days of a new provider entering the market. Obfuscated protocols (Shadowsocks, V2Ray, Trojan) that disguise circumvention traffic as ordinary HTTPS to random domains survive longer. Web proxies to mainstream domains sit in the same “looks like normal web” category.
Web proxies work everywhere consumer VPNs work, and in some places where they no longer do. Because the traffic looks like ordinary HTTPS to a mainstream domain, the DPI signatures that catch VPN protocols do not catch web proxy connections. This is the mechanism that lets AnyProxy remain functional in high-filter countries (Iran, China) where many consumer VPNs get killed.
Country hubs and site×country pages
For per-country action guides, see the /unblock/from/ country hub. For specific site+country combinations (YouTube from Iran, WhatsApp from China, ChatGPT from Russia), the 532 site×country pages under /unblock/ have step-by-step guides and, for the top-converting combinations, deep-dive sections covering local ISP behaviour and combo-specific warnings.