Demand for virtual private networks in Hong Kong surged more than sixfold 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 threefold from the previous day, while search interest in the keyword term "VPN" rocketed 1,680 percent 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.