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VPN Jurisdictions
Updated on August 11, 2021 by Andrew H
VPN Jurisdictions
Not all VPN services are the same, and the location of the business matters a lot when it comes to the security of your online data. Ironically, the bastion of freedom, privacy, and constitutional rights, the US, and many allies, are known to consistently violate online privacy rights.
Not only does the United States collect, store, and exchange telecom/online data of every person in the country, they also pressure corporations to create backdoors (such as telecom companies, ISPs, social media companies, etc) so that intelligence agencies can collect data which could not be intercepted due to encryption. With that in mind, it goes without saying that no VPN service based in the US (or its allies) can be fully trusted, as they would be subject to the same exact pressure.
Not only does the United States collect, store, and exchange telecom/online data of every person in the country, they also pressure corporations to create backdoors (such as telecom companies, ISPs, social media companies, etc) so that intelligence agencies can collect data which could not be intercepted due to encryption. With that in mind, it goes without saying that no VPN service based in the US (or its allies) can be fully trusted, as they would be subject to the same exact pressure.
5 Eyes, 9 Eyes, and 14 Eyes
The 5 Eyes is an alliance between the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, which agreed to bulk spy on their populations, and exchange data they collect with each other.
The 9 Eyes is an addition of 4 countries into the initial 5 Eyes: Denmark, Holland, France, and Norway. The 14 Eyes also includes Germany, Belgium, Italy, Sweden, and Spain. In addition, third party contributors include Israel, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea. Bottom line is, no VPN can be fully trusted if it’s located within the jurisdiction of any of these countries. The VPN services we recommend mostly reside in countries that have a strong history of upholding online privacy and striking down any infringement thereof. VPN services in any compromised country should be avoided if possible.
The 9 Eyes is an addition of 4 countries into the initial 5 Eyes: Denmark, Holland, France, and Norway. The 14 Eyes also includes Germany, Belgium, Italy, Sweden, and Spain. In addition, third party contributors include Israel, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea. Bottom line is, no VPN can be fully trusted if it’s located within the jurisdiction of any of these countries. The VPN services we recommend mostly reside in countries that have a strong history of upholding online privacy and striking down any infringement thereof. VPN services in any compromised country should be avoided if possible.