Proton VPN Usage in Philippines Stays High After Discord Ban Reversal

The block began on September 21, 2026, when the Philippines' Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center issued a 24-hour ultimatum to Discord and Reddit. The agency demanded that both platforms designate local representatives following a string of school shootings in the country. Reddit negotiated an extension, but Discord's initial response fell short. By September 23, local telecom operators began enforcing a network-level block.

In the Philippines, Discord functions as a critical hub for the remote-work economy rather than only a gaming chat app. Former DICT Undersecretary Jeffrey Ian Dy estimated that the shutdown jeopardized the livelihoods of at least 15,000 Filipino freelancers and virtual assistants.

The technical enforcement was uneven. Because the ban appeared to have been applied network by network, Discord disappeared for some users while remaining fully active for others. The same fragmentation affected the reversal. When Discord agreed to the CICC's terms and the ban was lifted, some internet service providers were slow to restore access.

That uneven restoration helps explain why Proton VPN's numbers have not returned to normal. Users who were left without access are keeping their VPNs active as a reliable failsafe against unpredictable ISP behavior, according to TechRadar. A Proton VPN spokesman told TechRadar that sign-ups were still high because of delays in the rollback, and that usage also remains "elevated." He said this was suspected to be due to a combination of ongoing uncertainty and privacy concerns around Discord's rollout of ID scanning in the Philippines.

Proton VPN is based in Switzerland and markets itself as privacy-first, with anti-censorship features and servers in 145 countries. Its free plan has limitations, while a premium subscription costs the equivalent of $2.99 per month.