Croatia is a small country in terms of internet usage. Though less in numbers, there are fascinating aspects of the country’s online domain that are worthy of mentioning. We say this even though Croatia is an EU member state, meaning that in most cases, laws and regulations in the country fall under EU directives. This puts Croatians among the more free internet users, though some restrictions do exist. Being a member state also means that the country follows the trend of imposing slightly more restrictive measures on the state of internet. This article is consequently about laying out specifics of the Croatian web and based on the information presenting you with Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), thereby advising you on a solution.
The vast majority of Croatian internet is handled via satellite. Coverage is well over 90% in the country – this is great news. However, major cities generally get more coverage and better speeds. Interestingly enough, online television has much more coverage in Croatia than in most countries. However, high definition broadcasts are only becoming more common today. Croatia has a separate organization that handles internet connections and data supply for the country and also content educational purposes, especially in high education. CARNet is the name, and colleges and universities that are associated with the company have access to academic websites like JSTOR.
Conforming to EU laws and agreements, Croatia was a part of the ACTA area until the EU opted out in 2012. Today, EU directives labeled as promoting data protection affect results of search engines, for example. It is also worth noting that freedom of speech was abused in the past. In 2009, right wing extremists edited into the Croatian version of Wikipedia, changing content to offend LGBT people and Serb people. The fact that such acts were not categorized as libel, hate speech or even discrimination points to a possible vagueness of Croatian internet law.
Internet censorship in Croatia follows the regulations of the European Union. This means that child pornography is prohibited in the country, and forms of hate speech and libel are similarly not welcome. What is also important to note here is that since the EU opted out of ACTA, it has created new restrictive measures regarding online content. For users of the Croatian internet, this means that search results are filtered, regardless of the engine of website you use to search for a certain thing. For example, you will not be able to find pictures containing nudity, not even for artistic purposes. The oddity of the situation is that most probably you can still go to the website that contains a filtered image. Self-censorship is another phenomenon, therefore be mindful about what you read in the Croatian press.
Streaming availability in Croatia is not the best. Spotify is not present in the country at all, and neither is Apple Music. You can find Google Play Music, however. Deezer or 8tracks are also within good reach for music enthusiasts, while Pandora is not. On the flipside, you can listen to Rdio online – this streamer is good to go. For films and moving images, you cannot find Netflix in Croatia; this company is more aligned towards western European countries. As mentioned before, television streaming is prevalent in Croatia. In the vast majority of cases, you can find a given channel online as well. The same is more or less true for radio – a lot of stations have moved online or broadcast there as well. Overall, while locally good, international businesses seem to neglect the country.
So Croatia is sort of a neutral place when it comes to internet freedom. Conditions are not the best, but it could be definitely worse. Therefore, we are now going to suggest three VPN providers that are best for general internet usage – the country’s online is focused a lot more on local content than global content.
First, we would like to say a few words about ExpressVPN. Staying true to the name, the company hosts some of the fastest VPN speeds on the market. While the fact that your traffic is encrypted does take its slight toll, ExpressVPN are one of the best at reducing speed loss. Though a bit more expensive than the rest, the company rightfully sits among the top providers.
HideMyAss is the second contender we would like to recommend. The reason we vouch for general usage in this case is because next to Croatia, you can connect to the internet with up to 180 other countries’ IP address. This alone makes considering HideMyAss a good thought. And when you think about the extensive device support that also favors gaming consoles, or that they also favor safer connections via SSL support, you are right to consider an investment.
Lastly, we would like to advise you on checking out VyprVPN. This particular player is an advocate of safety online. Next to the top level military grade encryptions – the best of the day – you can also enjoy the NAT Firewall that comes with the company’s services. We would also like to highlight that VyprVPN is based in Switzerland, meaning that they have less responsibilities towards the state than elsewhere. For you, this means that your personal information is a lot safer in the hands of VyprVPN.
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