Google Restricted Countries
Countries that permit technical access to Google but impose government-mandated filtering, traffic throttling, or surveillance requirements on internet service providers.
Operating in restricted markets demands strict HTTPS enforcement, clean compliance posture, and contingency planning for environments where digital presence carries meaningful legal risk.
Russia
Eastern EuropeSovereign Internet Law (2019). Google throttled by Roskomnadzor since March 2022. YouTube throttled up to 70% from August 2024. SORM surveillance mandated.
Turkey
Western AsiaLaw No. 5651 (2007) grants BTK broad blocking powers. Wikipedia blocked 2017–2020. YouTube blocked 2008–2010, 2014. Google services accessible but content removal orders frequent.
Vietnam
Southeast AsiaCybersecurity Law (2018) mandates local data storage. Google cooperates with content removal requests. Periodic throttling of YouTube during political events.
India
South AsiaIT Act Section 69A empowers blocking orders. Kashmir internet shutdown 2019–2021 longest democratic blackout. Google complies with content removal; YouTube videos periodically blocked.
Belarus
Eastern EuropeGoogle services blocked during 2020–2021 protests. BSCA state surveillance ongoing. Google Search currently accessible; throttling periodically applied.
Myanmar
Southeast AsiaMilitary junta activated internet shutdowns from Feb 2021 coup. Select Google services blocked. Nighttime mobile blackouts ongoing since 2021.
Syria
Middle EastTelecom Law 71 (2010) + civil-war emergency powers. STE orders Google blackouts during conflict. <35% connectivity; infrastructure severely damaged.
Ethiopia
East AfricaEthio Telecom state monopoly. Internet shutdowns during Tigray conflict (2020–2022). Hate Speech Proclamation (2019) enables content blocking. Recurring national blackouts.
Kazakhstan
Central AsiaMITM root certificate mandate (2019) targeted Google traffic; overturned after browser vendor pushback. Google filtered during Jan 2022 Almaty unrest.
Uganda
East AfricaOTT social media tax (2018). Internet blackout during Jan 2021 elections. Google Search accessible; YouTube/Gmail hit by OTT tax friction.
Pakistan
South AsiaPECA (2016) + PTA authority. YouTube blocked 2010–2016. Recurring PTA orders disrupt Google services; Google Play briefly suspended June 2023.
Bangladesh
South AsiaICT Act (2006, amended 2013) + Digital Security Act (2018). Internet shutdowns during protests (2024 student movements). YouTube periodically throttled.
Egypt
North AfricaAnti-Cyber and IT Crimes Law (2018). 500+ websites blocked. Google accessible but content removal requests frequent. VPN usage monitored.
Azerbaijan
South CaucasusGoogle services throttled during 2020 and 2023 Karabakh operations. YouTube intermittently degraded; Google Search currently accessible.
Sudan
Northeast AfricaNTRA ordered shutdowns during 2019 revolution and 2021 coup. Ongoing civil war (since Apr 2023) causes unpredictable outages.
Tajikistan
Central AsiaYouTube blocked 2012–2014. Google Search blocked during security events. Censorship expanding since 2018; ~26% internet penetration.
Uzbekistan
Central AsiaUZINFOCOM manages internet filtering. Multiple social media platforms periodically blocked. Google accessible but with occasional content-level restrictions.
Venezuela
South AmericaCONATEL regulates internet. Signal, X (Twitter) blocked in 2024. Google accessible but state ISP CANTV throttles international traffic during political crises.
Iraq
Middle EastCMC orders internet shutdowns during national exams and protests. Google throttled during political unrest. Social media blocks common since 2019.
Thailand
Southeast AsiaComputer Crime Act (2007, amended 2017) + lèse-majesté laws. MDES orders content removal. Google cooperates with Thailand takedown requests; individual URLs blocked.
Saudi Arabia
Middle EastCITC filters content under Anti-Terrorism Law and internet regulations. Google accessible but content removal requests among highest globally. VoIP services restricted.
About This Data
The information on this page is refreshed on a rolling basis so that readers always have access to the most current intelligence. The dataset currently displayed was fetched on March 15, 2026 at 14:25:32 (UTC+7 · Jakarta / Bangkok). If you check this page at a different point in time the figures may differ, as country-level access policies and search engine market positions shift continuously. We publish this reference to help strategists, SEO practitioners, and growth teams make informed decisions about which search engines and LLMs to prioritise, whether that means doubling down on Google in open markets, investing in Baidu or Yandex for restricted regions, or building an AI-answer presence on emerging platforms like Perplexity, ChatGPT, or Gemini.
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