In one of our previous newsletters, we talked about how the new Indian VPN rules are seemingly tampering with data and user security in India. With the VPN companies asked to submit the data from the last 5 years, the Indian government is trying to collect all this data for ‘security’ purposes.
This move however wasn’t exactly well-received by the VPN companies operating in India as it basically challenges their fundamentals, not to mention the cybersecurity rules it breaks.
VPNs allow users to mask their digital footprint and ensure a double layer of security on the internet. Cracking down on these VPNs is basically hindering a core part of people’s privacy.
Due to this, major companies are leaving India.
ExpressVPN, as well as SurfShark, decided to wrap up their physical servers in India. These huge data privacy companies leaving India not only take away a piece of the country’s economy but also take away potential employment opportunities from India.
In its statement, ExpressVPN mentioned that the law is basically overreaching which is opening a window for potential ‘abuse’.
Rightfully, it seems that there might be some kind of damage control with the move, but a significant part of the picture belongs to misuse of data and the lack of freedom to privacy.
In the same way, a major global data security platform, NordVPN also decided to shut down its physical servers in India.
How this step will turn out to be in the future for the privacy of people is only unpredictable. All we can hope is that the companies leaving India stop here only and the data of the people remain untouched.