When regimes block essential websites, VPNs provide an immediate emergency option. Government censorship often involves instructing local ISPs to ban access to social media or domains that display information that the government does not wish to see. Governments can also filter search engines to exclude particular results. Take for example China, where the government has segregated its internet from the rest of the world in order to prevent residents from accessing restricted, unwanted information. In this case, a VPN may be the perfect solution. It is not 100% fool proof, but it is amongst the few tools that will actually work. VPNs will provide you access to other networks that aren't prohibited, and because your device's IP address isn't being sent to the site you wish to visit, it will be more difficult to trace you. One issue is that some countries intentionally prohibit VPN use or make VPN use illegal. If that is the case, then unfortunately, there is not much you can do. However, there are some VPNs that have managed to remain active, even in some countries where VPNs are blocked.