NordVPN has observed a notable increase in inquiries immediately after the U.S. election and a stable growth of interest from Americans ever since.
As the new U.S. President starts his four-year term, many wonder what will be the new policy on government surveillance of ordinary citizens. President Donald Trump, while being vague on his views concerning Internet privacy, has favored restoring NSA‘s secret surveillance programs, and has most recently signed an executive order that stipulates foreigners to be excluded from U.S. privacy protection. What comes next, as the President Trump will have the power to introduce different surveillance laws, change the existing ones, or possibly bring back the intrusive Patriot Act?
The new administration, not only the new President, is raising alarm among digital freedom supporters. Much worry comes from the high-ranking national security position nominations.
Attorney General nominee Jeff Sessions pointed out that “national security and criminal investigators must be able to overcome encryption,” signaling that he supports the idea of government having full access to people’s data, favoring backdoor access to encrypted devices. Further, FCC (Federal Communications Commission) will be led by Ajit Pai, a net neutrality opponent. Net neutrality standards would require ISPs to preserve consumer privacy, and would encourage competition among carriers. Opposing it means centralizing ISP power in the hands of a few carriers with far reaching rights to collect customer data. The new CIA Director Mike Pompeo also sparked concerns that he will undermine digital rights and promote vast data collection from citizens.
Worried about unpredictable Internet security situation, some digital organizations are taking precautions. For example, Archive.org, a digital library that indexes older versions of websites, is creating a backup copy of its records and will keep it on Canadian servers.
Many ordinary Americans, who are also concerned about future Internet security and privacy, started to turn to encryption services, such as VPNs (Virtual Private Networks). ProtonMail, encrypted email provider from Switzerland, has seen its number of users double following the U.S. election aftermath, and downloads of encrypted messaging app, Signal, have spiked since the election. NordVPN has also seen a notable increase of customer inquiries from the US.
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