Ever since the Abbott Government proposed its data retention (metadata) scheme last year, I have argued that Australians would flock to virtual private networks (VPNs), allowing them to surf the web and download content anonymously (click here to read about how VPNs work), thus undermining the Government’s attempts to track their internet usage.
It is not surprising, then, to read that VPN subscriptions are exploding across Australia. From The Conversation:
In a recent survey, 16% of Australians surveyed had used a VPN to protect their privacy. This would have increased significantly after that point as one VPN provider, TorGuard showed a large spike in usage from Australia immediately after the Dallas Buyers Club LLC court case judgement was announced…
The other side effect of the increased use in VPN technology is that its use makes the Australian Government’s data retention bill less useful as the only bit of metadata the ISP will see is that a VPN connection was made to a provider. Everything that happens after that point will be hidden from the ISP.
CNet has more:
According to Ali Mansoor, digital marketing strategist at PureVPN, VPN subscriptions in Australia have been on the rise since October 2014 – the same month that iiNet began legal action with Dallas Buyers Club, new online surveillance powers were granted to ASIO and the Data Retention Bill hit Parliament.
Since then, Mansoor says interest has only risen.
“As of early March, subscriptions went through the roof,” he said. “We observed a 500 percent rise in subscriptions from Australia. Traffic and sales from the Australian region has surpassed even the United States!”…
Ben Van der Pelt of TorGuard said his company’s VPN service had proven popular with Australians, with subscriptions from this country now accounting for half of the company’s total business.
Again, the above highlights the futility of the Government’s data retention scheme.
What is the point of pursuing the $400 million-plus scheme when the targeted perpetrators can easily circumvent the regime at a cost of $5 to $10 a month?
It seems the only winner from such a policy are the VPN providers, with ordinary Australians left picking up the tab.
As I keep saying, the ultimate solution to stopping online piracy is to make content as freely available and affordable in Australia as it is in the USA. With the arrival of affordable streaming services like Netflix, the situation is improving. That said, Netflix’s Australian offering has around one-sixth the content of its US service due to a raft of exclusive deals by Australia’s media barons that have locked-up content.
Until the situation is resolved, VPNs will remain in vogue in order to circumvent geo-blocking in addition to protecting one’s privacy.
