Let’s start by highlighting some common scenarios that you’ve probably encountered while surfing the internet. First, you’re in the middle of a buzz; everyone’s talking about the latest show on the most popular streaming platform. So, like many others, you’re excited and you log in to get a taste of the new show. Unfortunately, you’re hit with disappointment – you can’t access it in your region.
Here’s another scenario; you’re overseas enjoying your vacation and you want to make a crucial and urgent transfer, unfortunately, you’re denied access to your banking account. Moreover, you might want to purchase some online products at a discounted price, only to discover that the product can’t be shipped to your country.
So, here’s the question, why the restrictions?
Now, all those examples and several others are what is called geo-blocking; a practice of restricting access by internet service providers to online content based on the user’s geographic location.
But why restrict content access?
Geo-blocking is commonly imposed to restrict access often to premium streaming platforms as well as content from other media platforms. The restrictions are put in place primarily to protect copyright as well as licensing agreements.
Besides, geo-blocks can be enforced for location-based authentication, blocking malicious traffic, fraud prevention, and even by online gambling sites (gambling is illegal in some countries).
How Geo-Blocking Works
Your IP address is the one that sells you out!
An IP address is the number assigned to any device that accesses the internet. Ideally, each device that’s connected to the internet is assigned an IP address that shows the location of the device and other things.
When accessing a service or site with geo-blocking, first, it examines the IP address that’s linked to your location. Perhaps, IP addresses are merely distributed regionally, which means that they’re the indicators of your geographical location.
Sometimes (in rare cases) geo-blocking might enhance its accuracy by analyzing your device’s GPS data when available, or even Wi-Fi signals. In that case, the GPS offers the exact location where you’re in the world.
Now, once the geo-blocking system determines your location, it applies the pre-set conditions based on the given location. The conditions are the rules put in place that could include restricting access to content or simply redirecting the user to a regional version of that site. Therefore, it’s easy to say that the sophistication of the system allows it to impose restrictions not only by country but also within smaller cities and regions based on the given location data obtained.
Here’s the thing, an IP address can tell your zip code, city, and the country of the device’s ISP. In fact, it can be used to get the approximate location of the device. However, it can’t be used to identify the user.
Geo-Blocking vs. Censorship
Most folks mix up geo-blocking with censorship given that at first glance they appear similar – both restrict your activity online. However, they’re totally different beasts having different motives.
For instance, censorship is merely when the government takes control of what its people can read, see, or share – it’s essentially clamping down on dissent or sensitive topics. It’s a practice common with authoritarian governments. Therefore, censorship is more about control usually with social or political motives.
On the other hand, geo-blocking is used to restrict access to content based on the user’s location. The reasons are usually business-related or legal issues – it’s more about managing who can access the content and where; the goal is maximizing profits.
Purpose of Geo-Blocking
Here are some of the top reasons for geo-blocking;
Enforce Licensing Agreements
Usually, the content creators have to sign licensing agreements to make money from that work. It entails restricting access to digital content like books, TV shows, or even music based on location.
Most popular streaming sites utilize geo-blocking to impose licensing agreements. Besides, it helps such sites to comply with the copyright laws in different regions. For example, content creators can give Netflix rights to stream a show or movie in a given region. Netflix can then apply geo-blocking to make sure that users of that region can only access that show or movie.
Banning Illegal Content
Content creators are not just allowed to move freely – they’re bound also to geo-blocking. A government can forbid entry of particular content types that it deems illegal like online gambling or porn.
Regional Laws and Regulations Compliance
Companies have to comply with regional laws and regulations, and hence they use geo-blocking. Various countries vary in legal requirements, especially on things like data privacy, product licensing, content distribution, E-commerce security, and several other things.
Pricing Strategies
It’s not all about content restrictions when talking about geo-blocking. Some companies enforce geo-blocking purely for pricing strategies and market segmentation. As a result, the geo-blocking changes the information one can view based on their location or country.
Before a company prices goods and services, it considers regional purchasing power as well as competition. That way, buyers from various regions pay different prices just for the same product.
Types of Geo-Blocking
Geo-blocking can be implemented in several ways. For instance, companies and content creators come up with rules on how geo-blocking will work for their online content. Here are the common types of geo-blocking:
IP-Based Geo-Blocking
This is the most common geo-blocking that involves blocking a user from a given location based on their IP address. That way, a company can also use that IP address to offer a localized feel, provide relevant business hours, show various offers for various regions, and even translate messages or redirect users to pages in their language.
DNS-Based Geo-Blocking
It’s a type of blocking that uses the Domain Name System (DNS) to determine the user’s location. Some websites can restrict access to content based on the DNS server origin of the user. Usually, this type of blocking blocks the entire country for cyber security and eCommerce purposes.
Location-Based
Some sites use geo-location data to determine the location of the user. Wi-Fi networks, GPS data, and IP addresses are used to determine the location.
Credit Card-Based
This is another type of geo-blocking that most online shopping platforms use. Ideally, they don’t deny total access, but one has to use the credit card information from the required location to complete the purchase.
Now, you might be asking whether there are ways that you can use to bypass geo-blocking. If you’re new in the world of dark web search, it’s worth understanding how geo-blocking can also influence access to certain hidden or restricted sites.
Of course, they say that there’s no method that’s fool-proof or simply without workarounds. There are various ways to bypass geo-blocking. Let’s dive in;
How to Get Around Geo-Blocking
One thing is clear; your IP address is the major betrayal. Therefore, if you’re thinking about bypassing geo-blocking, then you need to think about spoofing your location by hiding your IP address. Here are some of the ways that will help you bypass geo-blocks;
Use a VPN
Apparently, a Virtual Private Network (VPN) is the most effective way you can use to bypass geo-restrictions. In fact, it helps you to securely and privately bypass restrictions and other internet censorship.
Ideally, the best VPN hides your real IP address and then replaces it with another from a different location. The reason is that your traffic passes via a VPN server before it reaches your device. In fact, all the traffic is encrypted, which increases your privacy and security.
With a VPN, a website reads the IP of the VPN and not your real IP address, and hence you won’t get blocked out. Moreover, a VPN will help you unblock those websites restricted in your region as well as avoid price discrimination online based on your location.
Use Proxy Servers
This is an intermediary between the site you’re trying to access and your device. Each device connected to the internet has an IP address; so is the proxy server. Therefore, if you connect via a proxy server, it assigns you a different IP address before it redirects you to the site you’re trying to access. That way, you can’t be blocked based on your location as your real IP address is masked.
Use the Tor Browser
The Onion Router (Tor) increases your anonymity as it masks your IP address as well as encrypts your data. The browser is a three-layered proxy that randomly connects to the public node at entry, and then redirects your traffic to the middle node before getting to the exit node.
Smart DNS
With Smart DNS, it alters the DNS name on the device from the local ones to the DNS servers in other countries. It means that it spoofs user location by rerouting the DNS to request another location to allow you access to blocked material.
Is Geo-Blocking Legal?
It’s a common question among many, but the truth is that geo-blocking is legal, unless you’re in the EU, where it’s not. As for bypassing geo-blocking, it’s illegal in some regions, through some methods, and for various reasons. However, in most places, bypassing geo-blocking is not illegal.
Apparently, the illegality of bypassing geo-blocks depends entirely on why one would want to do so.
Conclusion
Geo-blocking is legal, however, history has taught us that whatever is legal is not entirely always moral – a topic of debate for another day. Besides, it is fairly said that censorship can’t be justified. On the other hand, the efforts you may put in to bypass geo-blocking might be illegal depending on your country or the method you used. The good news is that you now have everything you need to know about geo-blocking; it’s up to you how you deal with it!
