Providers are reporting that VPN usage has shot through the roof in Hong Kong following the introduction of new security laws by the Chinese government.

A report commissioned by AtlasVPN shows that VPN installs increased by over 150 times between May 17, 2020 and May 24, 2020. Drilling down, installs surged 520% on May 21, 2020, compared to the previous day. SurfShark and NordVPN have also reported sharp increases in usage as Hong Kong citizens – British subjects until 1997 – take steps to circumvent the Great Firewall of China.

Hong Kong’s interest in the “VPN” search term skyrocketed by 1,680% on May 21.

Meanwhile, ProtonVPN – founded to protect privacy and defend freedom of speech and is used by activists, journalists and campaigners all over the world – has reported peak usage increase of 1400% over the same May 21 weekend. Its app also reached third place on the Apple App Store.

Dr Andy Yen, Founder and CEO of Proton:

“We created ProtonVPN, and ProtonMail before that, in order to defend fundamental rights such as democracy, privacy and freedom of speech. We believe that the citizens of Hong Kong, just like all people around the world, should have the right to exercise these freedoms. Proton has an office in Taiwan so we feel solidarity with our user community in Hong Kong, and a duty to help uphold our shared values.”

For the complete privacy security, which seems sensible in the current climate of fear and intimidation and the lack of a wider international response, ProtonVPN and ProtonMail would seem to be the best solutions.