New Indian government rules for VPN providers (virtual private network) want their first victim. Well-known company ExpressVPN has announced that it will remove all “India VPN servers” in response to new rules, calling them “extremes” and “so widespread that it opens a window of potential harassment”.”With the latest data law introduced in India requiring all VPN providers to maintain user information for at least five years, ExpressVPN has made the direct decision to remove our Indian VPN servers,” the company said in a statement.
Indian users, however, will still be able to “connect to VPN servers that will provide them with Indian IP addresses”.“Make sure our users will still be able to connect to VPN servers that will provide them with Indian IP addresses and allow them to access the Internet as if they were Indian. These Indian ‘virtual’ servers will be available in Singapore and the UK, ”the statement said.
The company also noted that “the damage caused by the misuse of this law far exceeds any benefit that lawmakers claim it will reap”.“ExpressVPN is refusing to participate in the Indian government’s efforts to restrict internet freedom. As a company that focuses on protecting privacy and freedom of expression online, we will continue to strive to keep users connected to the Internet open and free with privacy and security, no matter where they are. ”
A new guide
In April 2022, the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), acting as a national center for performing various tasks in the online security environment, announced that various technology companies including VPN providers would be required to retain users. data to “simplify incident response”.
By order, the following categories of information will need to be included:
Verified names of subscribers / customers renting services
Rental time includes days
Shared / used IPs by members
Email address and IP address and timestamp used during registration / boarding
Purpose of renting resources
Verified address and contact numbers
Identity pattern for subscribers / clients renting services
The move has sparked criticism from many large VPN companies, which often do not store such data for the purpose of protecting their customers’ privacy.
Responding to the criticism, the country’s minister of electricity and information technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar said VPN service providers who do not follow the new rules are “free to leave India”.
ExpressVPN will keep the servers visible
According to the statement, users who want to connect to an Indian server can do so using “India (via Singapore)” or “India (via the UK)”.
“Virtual server locations are not new to ExpressVPN; in fact, we have operated our “India (UK)” server site for several years. For physical locations, the registered IP address is the same as the country you chose to connect to, while the server is actually located in another country. Visible sites are used, where necessary, to provide fast, reliable connectivity, ”notes the company.
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