Azerbaijanis are flocking to VPNs in droves after the government blocked TikTok following the country’s launch of military operations against Nagorno-Karabakh.
The ban, which was imposed on September 19, 2023, was justified by the government as a necessary measure to prevent the spread of misinformation and protect national security.
According to vpnMentor there was a 324% increase in VPN searches in Azerbaijan on the day of the TikTok ban. This suggests that a large number of Azerbaijanis are using VPNs to access the social media platform.
The ban on TikTok is not the first time that the Azerbaijani government has blocked social media platforms. In 2020, the government temporarily blocked several social media outlets, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Twitter, and YouTube, after tensions escalated in Nagorno-Karabakh.
It remains to be seen how long the TikTok ban will remain in place. However, the surge in VPN demand suggests that Azerbaijanis are determined to find ways to access the platform, regardless of government restrictions.
