As I predicted in a previous episode, VPN usage in the western World is exploding. Let me explain why.

Notes:

• The Internet as we know it is under severe threat, primarily from western governments.
• Such governments know that younger voters are no longer engaging with traditional media like television or newspapers, which are regulated by government agencies, but are instead gaining their news from unregulated online sources.
• Frankly speaking, this terrifies our governments, so they are now attempted to regulate Internet access, as well as jailing some people for “saying the wrong thing” online.
• It’s all very authoritarian.
• In a previous episode of this podcast, all the way back in December of 2023, I made the following prediction: “Free speech restrictions will drive more people to VPNs and anonymous services.” Ref: https://techleader.pro/a/626-Tech-Leader-Pro-podcast-2023-week-52,-2023-wrap-and-2024-predictions
• Even I was surprised at how quickly things would escalate, with many supposedly “liberal” governments bringing in very illiberal laws to restrict or otherwise monitor the Internet usage of their own citizens.
• For example, in the UK the Online Safety Act of 2023 is a significant piece of legislation that places new duties on social media companies and other online services. Its primary goal is to make these platforms more responsible for user safety, with a particular emphasis on protecting children. The Act does not restrict internet access for all users but introduces measures that can restrict access to certain types of content based on age.
• Recently that act came into effect, resulting in all kinds of practical issues.
• In order to meet the requirements, some websites are now blocking UK users from accessing their content until they verify their age via an upload of official IDs, such as a passport of driver’s license.
• Often 3rd party companies are being used to check and store these ID documents, opening up UK residents to potential data breaches later on.
• As always, the downstream implications of poorly implemented regulations can be massive.
• Another example is Australia which has also enacted new laws to enhance online safety, building upon its existing framework. The Online Safety Act 2021 has been amended with the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024, which again is focusing on age as the factor being regulated against, which can only be verified by (you guessed it) uploaded some form of ID documents.
• Basically guys, governments no longer want us to be anonymous online.
• One such way to protect yourself from spying of course is to use a VPN, or “Virtual Private Network”, to ensure that your connection is encrypted and routed through another location, typically outside of your country.
• VPNs have been widely used in enterprises for years, to help them to protect their employees from snooping from the competition or other nefarious actors, but now we are seeing them being used by private citizens also, which frankly is a good idea.
• The next logical step from governments will be to ban the usage of VPNs.
• Looking at Google Trends in the UK for the past 12 months, we can see that a baseline value for searching the term “VPN” sat at around 19 points, but this spiked to a maximum of 100 points in late July of this year.
• Put simply, many people are looking into VPNs for the first time in their lives, which is behaviour driven by a fear of their own governments.
• We live in wild times!
• Honestly speaking if I could invest in one technology right now, it would be VPNs.
• As a capitalist, I am always looking for such opportunities! Think about how Zoom (ZM) and Peloton (PTON) exploding in usage during the pandemic for example, both of which seen large increase in their stock price in late 2020 before easing back down to previous baselines.
• But sadly many of the most well-known consumer VPN companies, such as NordVPN, ExpressVPN, and Surfshark, are not publicly traded on major stock exchanges as standalone companies.
• So, it is hard to find a “pure play” VPN stock right now.
• So to conclude, what will change this environment?
• I suspect it will take political changes, with the election of new leaders that support freedom of speech.
• Because sadly I believe some of the current regimes we have in the West will continue to double-down on authoritarian ways.

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Title music is "Apparent Solution" by Brendon Moeller, licensed via www.epidemicsound.com

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