Research reveals use of web content tools is expected to grow as internet restrictions continue to tighten

New research has found 82% of internet users in countries with some of the world’s harshest internet censorship regulations expect the need for web access tools to grow in the next year.

The research, carried out by Hola, gathered insights from 2,000 internet users across China, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, and United Arab Emirates (UAE). The findings showed users in those regions are currently struggling to access educational information and resources (43%) and online news (29%).

When it comes to overcoming the growing challenge of internet censorship, 97% of citizens surveyed in the territories most impacted by restrictions believe technology providers should be doing more to make online content accessible. In addition, nearly all respondents in China (99%) think technology providers should be doing more in this area.

Web content tools are becoming increasingly important as censorship grows and users look to bypass local restrictions. The findings show 95% of internet users that have limited access to online content already use web content tools to access restricted material. Some online tools can be expensive and therefore not accessible for all users. The research showed 80% of respondents would consider using free technology tools to be able to access online content.

“As we can see in the findings, users are struggling to gain access to educational material and online news content, and this is simply unacceptable. We agree that technology companies should be doing more to address this and one key weapon in this battle is free web content tools. We are proud to provide free VPN technology and web tools that unlock online content and help bypass restrictions,” explained Avi Raz Cohen, Hola’s General Manager.