When people talk about “government bans” on websites, the process is far less dramatic than it sounds. There is no central switch that blocks a website for an entire country. Instead, enforcement is carried out indirectly through Internet Service Providers, or ISPs.
Governments typically mandate website restrictions for reasons such as national security, public safety, or the prevention of content deemed illegal or harmful to public order. Websites may be blocked for hosting pirated content, spreading misinformation, facilitating fraud, or violating local laws.
While the decision to restrict access originates with the government, it is usually communicated to ISPs through official channels such as an email or a signed order under legal provisions like Section 69A of India’s IT Act.
It’s the ISPs, Not the Government
Governments rarely have direct access to the underlying internet backbone. Instead, they enforce restrictions by regulating ISPs and telecom operators.
Each ISP implements a ban differently depending on its infrastructure, router capacity, DNS setup, and gateway software. From a technical standpoint, these bans rely on network-level interventions that interfere with DNS resolution, routing behavior, and encrypted connections.
Common Website Blocking Methods
1. DNS Blocking
ISPs manipulate DNS resolution by removing or spoofing records for targeted domains. Instead of returning the correct IP address, the ISP’s resolver may return an NXDOMAIN response or redirect users to a government warning page. This usually happens at the recursive resolver level, and some providers cache poisoned results to make the block more persistent.
Users typically see errors like “DNS not found” or “site can’t be reached.”
How to bypass:
Changing the device DNS to a public resolver such as Google (8.8.8.8), Cloudflare (1.1.1.1), or Quad9 can bypass this. These services often encrypt DNS queries, making interference harder.
2. IP Address Blocking
In this method, ISPs maintain access-control lists on routers or firewalls that silently drop packets destined for blacklisted IP addresses. This is easy to deploy using firewall rules or BGP filters. However, because many hosting providers serve hundreds of domains from the same IP, this often leads to overblocking.
Browsers usually hang and eventually show a timeout or “connection refused” error.
How to bypass:
VPNs or proxy servers reroute traffic through IPs outside the ISP’s control.
3. SNI Filtering
During the TLS handshake, browsers send an unencrypted Server Name Indication field that reveals the target domain. ISPs can inspect this field and block connections to flagged domains using firewall-based TLS inspection.
Modern browsers are adopting Encrypted ClientHello, which prevents this inspection.
Users often see “connection reset” or “secure connection failed” errors.
How to bypass:
Using a VPN or browsers that support encrypted handshake mechanisms.
4. HTTP Interception and Redirection
For unencrypted HTTP traffic over port 80, ISPs can easily read the host header and redirect users to a block notice or government page. This is done using transparent proxy servers inserted into the network path.
Users see ISP-branded or government warning pages instead of the requested site.
How to bypass:
Using HTTPS or a VPN. HTTPS encrypts the request, while a VPN hides all traffic from the ISP.
5. Deep Packet Inspection (DPI)
DPI is one of the most advanced censorship techniques. It analyzes packets and encrypted metadata to identify prohibited content or circumvention tools. These systems are deployed at major network choke points and often use heuristic or machine learning models to recognize traffic patterns.
This approach is resource intensive and can degrade network performance.
Users experience slow loading, mid-connection failures, or repeated timeouts.
How to bypass:
VPNs with traffic masking such as Shadowsocks or WireGuard with obfuscation plugins can disguise traffic as normal HTTPS.
6. Route-Level or BGP Filtering
ISPs can withdraw or null-route traffic to specific IP prefixes using BGP. This effectively removes entire networks from reach. Misconfigurations can have global consequences, as seen in 2008 when Pakistan Telecom accidentally made YouTube inaccessible worldwide.
Browsers typically show long load times followed by “destination unreachable” errors.
How to bypass:
VPNs tunnel traffic through alternate BGP paths that the ISP cannot modify.
7. Application-Level Controls
When governments target specific apps like TikTok or PUBG, blocking often occurs through removal from app stores such as Google Play or the Apple App Store. App servers may also enforce geo-restrictions, refusing connections from certain regions.
Users notice apps disappearing from stores or failing to load new content.
How to bypass:
Installing APKs manually, using alternate app stores, or connecting through a trusted VPN.
The VPN Reality
VPNs remain the most reliable countermeasure against censorship. A VPN creates an encrypted tunnel between the device and a remote server, preventing ISPs from seeing which websites are accessed.
Governments and ISPs increasingly deploy DPI systems to detect VPN usage through handshake patterns and traffic fingerprints. In response, modern VPNs use masking techniques that make encrypted traffic resemble standard HTTPS.
There is no permanent solution to censorship. As blocking techniques evolve, circumvention tools adapt in response. This ongoing technical arms race continues to shape how access to the internet is controlled and contested.
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