Slovakia is a member state of the European Union. If we take a look at the internet freedom of the country, it will become apparent that it is much like the rest of the EU, with some specific modifications. It is also important to highlight that along with the rest of the region, Slovakia was a part of the ACTA zone until the EU ceased to partake in the agreement in 2012. This means that since the trend in Europe today is governments establishing more direct control over the country’s internet they are supposed to serve, things might get uglier for Slovakia as well. Thus, this article is about offering a solution to bypass current and future restrictions along with offering a solution to safely use other countries’ IP addresses that have better internet freedom. Both of them come in the form of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs).
As with most countries today, you can easily find out general information about Slovakia without using a VPN. Of course, in countries with really strong grips on information control it is well possible that the information that is present online is distorted. Nevertheless, if you do not happen to be interested in Slovakia’s various sights and history, you can think of the location as a gateway. For example, if you connect to the internet using a Slovakian IP, you will most probably find out more information about Slavic cultures. This is especially useful if your connections speeds would worsen a lot more if you connected to countries that lie east of Slovakia for that reason.
As mentioned before, Slovakia’s internet law mostly conforms to the rest of the European Union. There are two major exceptions that we would like to highlight. First, defamation, and according to the U.S. Department of State “… including acts fueled by extremism and comments aimed at nationalities” is criminalized, although with little rebuttal. Cases where such acts are actually punished are rarer in Slovakia. Secondly, on a historical note, the denial of the Holocaust is considered a serious offense in the country. So much so that the person who commits the act is subject to “a prison sentence between six months and three years”.
Censorship is also somewhat similar to the EU’s sanctions. Child pornography is banned, and in accordance with the above legal preferences, any online content related to defamation and politically, ideologically extremist behavior is prosecuted. Since there were cases of punishment and imprisonment because of the above, it is safe to assume that the government (or associated parties) conducts some surveillance. However, if you invest in a VPN product, you can avoid being detected. VPN providers encrypt your online traffic, preventing you from being detected almost entirely. On a side note, foreign gambling companies have been of some concern for the Slovakian government, but today, there is still a more free business going on in the country in this regard. Otherwise, Slovakia is relatively free of censorship and filtering, apart from the above.
From an international perspective, music streaming is more beneficial in Slovakia than film, for example. Bigger movie streamers like Netflix reserve themselves in the western part of Europe. Austria, a neighboring country for example is already supported. However, for local broadcasts, it is definitely worth using a Slovakian IP address. Furthermore, this demand is mostly supported by local businesses. Slovakian radio on the other hand, is accessible from most of Europe and vice versa. In terms of music streaming, the country fares better. As with most of the EU, Slovakia allows Apple Music, Google Play Music and Spotify within its borders. Additionally, you can find sites like Deezer, free streamers SoundCloud and Bandcamp.
Slovakia is an average EU country in terms of internet freedom. This means that while those who connect to the country enjoy relatively free surfing, it is still better off being safe than sorry. Therefore, we are now going to recommend you three VPN services that fit the Slovakian internet.
First, we have PureVPN. With Slovakia being a fairly recent addition to their list of over 140 countries, this provider operates at the same high level in the case of every location. Next to a very safe kill switch, PureVPN also provides great utility for the customer with 24/7 support and you can even enlist help via remote desktop.
Secondly, we would like to call attention to Switzerland’s VyprVPN. You as a potential buyer are well protected wit this company, as VyprVPN has less responsibility towards the Swiss state, meaning your personal data is in safer hands. Furthermore, you can enjoy safer connections here: let it be the company’s own SmartDNS proxy – VyprDNS – or the built-in NAT firewall, expect high quality treatment.
Lastly, we found IPVanish to be a great choice as well. While this company does not have a deliberate “selling point” that stands out, every aspect of their service is satisfactory instead. This is rare among today’s VPN companies and therefore IPVanish is one of the best around.
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