Hong Kong demand for VPNs surges on heels of China’s plan for national security laws

HONG KONG: Demand for virtual private networks in Hong Kong surged more than six-fold last Thursday as Beijing proposed tough new national security laws for the financial hub, reflecting concerns over internet privacy, according to a VPN provider.

Atlas VPN said installations of the tool that helps people bypass web restrictions surged again on Friday, up more than three-fold from the previous day, while search interest in the keyword term “VPN” rocketed 1,680% on May 21 from a day earlier.

Search interest in the word “VPN” hit a record high on Friday, it added, citing data from Google Trends.