Sanctions. Zoom is a US company, and its terms cite the US Export Administration Regulations and the sanctions programmes of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control by name. Its restricted list points readers to the US government's list of sanctions programmes, so in those places the block comes from Zoom's side, not from the local government.
Business and politics, in China. Zoom was temporarily blocked in China in the autumn of 2019, admitted in April 2020 that some calls had been "mistakenly" routed through data centres in China, stopped individual users in China from hosting meetings in May 2020 and moved to its partner-only model that August (TechNode).
Network rules, everywhere else. Zoom's help says that an app stuck on "connecting" or showing a network error can come down to the network connection, firewall settings or a web security gateway. Schools and employers that block Zoom do it at that level, by domain, IP range or port.
Not on the list: Russia and the UAE. In the UAE, Zoom is one of 15 calling apps licensed by the telecoms regulator, TDRA, so it can be used there legally without a VPN (Gulf News, September 2024). In Russia, a lawmaker suggested blocking Zoom in April 2021 after reports that it had stopped selling to government agencies there (The Moscow Times), but Zoom does not list Russia as restricted.
Understanding Internet Censorship
Internet censorship takes many forms, from state-level firewalls to corporate network restrictions. Organizations like Access Now's #KeepItOn coalition track internet shutdowns globally, while the Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI) provides open data on censorship around the world.
GhostShield uses standard WireGuard without an obfuscation layer. In countries that detect and block VPN traffic itself, such as China, Russia and Iran, connections can fail at times, and some school and office networks block VPN connections too.
Alternative methods to unblock Zoom
Join by phone. Zoom lets participants dial in to a meeting with no app or data connection when the host's account and meeting allow it: call a number from the invite or from Zoom's international list, enter the meeting ID followed by #, press # to skip the participant ID, then enter the passcode followed by # (Zoom). Toll numbers cost what your carrier charges, and *6 mutes and unmutes you.
Use the web app. The Zoom Web App runs in a browser with nothing to install, which helps on a computer where you cannot install software. It talks to the same Zoom servers, so it does not get round a network that blocks Zoom.
In China, use the local versions. Zoom's partners there sell Zoom's technology inside their own products, and Zoom says users in mainland China can still join meetings as participants.
Ask the network owner. If Zoom is blocked at school or work, the people who run the network can allow it, and Zoom's firewall page lists exactly what they need. Getting round a school or employer's filter can break the rules you agreed to, so this page does not cover it. For keeping the meetings themselves private, see how to stop strangers joining your Zoom meetings.
Is unblocking Zoom legal?
Zoom's terms of service require every user to confirm they are not located in a country or territory under US trade sanctions, naming Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria and the Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine, and Zoom says users in its restricted places cannot access it for regulatory reasons. In China, a January 2017 notice from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology says no one may set up or rent cross-border lines, including VPNs, without its approval (Global Voices). In the UAE, Zoom is a licensed calling app, so no VPN is needed. This is not legal advice.
Learn more about internet censorship and privacy →