On September 25, a group of tech companies and digital rights activists came together to launch a global campaign. Together, they made their message clear: The time is now to rally behind virtual private networks (VPNs).

That message was amplified during the Defend VPNs Day of Action, an initiative led by the nonprofit group Fight for the Future. Together with VPN providers Surfshark, Windscribe, and Amnezia, Fight for the Future rallied to defend internet users’ collective right to use private networks.

Millions of internet users use VPNs to access websites that are otherwise geolocked or age-restricted. Legally speaking, those services are permitted because they fall under their users’ rights to free speech and expression.

That may seem like a simple precedent, but recent events have complicated the VPN landscape. Numerous national governments are trying to limit access to social media for users under the age of 18, but VPNs make those measures difficult to enforce. In Australia, an attempted restriction has only made kids and teens more active online. Approximately one in 20 young Australians have evaded the ban by using a VPN to spoof their location.

Other governments want to follow Australia’s lead by enacting youth social media restrictions, but they have to deal with those pesky VPNs first. Utah became the first state to force websites to restrict traffic from suspected VPNs, and Australia is considering a blanket ban on the networks.

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