ProtonVPN, a leading VPN provider with over 1 million users worldwide, has announced that it is moving its Indian servers to a new location after the government crackdown on VPNs. “We are moving our Indian servers to a new location as the current situation in India makes it difficult for us to operate there,” said ProtonVPN CEO Andy Yen. “We hope that this move will help us continue providing our users with the best possible service.” Since March, the Indian government has been cracking down on VPNs and other online services that are seen as being used by criminals and terrorists. This crackdown has led to widespread censorship and restrictions on online freedom. ProtonVPN is one of the few VPN providers that is still operating in India. “The situation in India is very difficult at the moment,” said Yen. “But we will continue providing our users with the best possible service, even if it means moving our servers.” ..
The rules, put together by India’s Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) in a bid to fight cybercrime, will force VPNs—among other computer service providers—to implement know-your-customer protocols. This includes registering each user’s full name, address and telephone number, as well as customer activity while using the network.
This flies directly in the face of what VPNs are supposed to do, so it’s small wonder, then, that ProtonVPN—among others—is leaving India. The only way to avoid the restrictions is to abandon any presence in India, which includes servers. That said, users can still sign on and use the service from India, they just won’t be able to use servers based in the country.
However, ProtonVPN seems intent on making sure that their customers can still anonymously use the internet with Indian IP addresses. To do so, it will “replace” its abandoned Indian servers with Indian IPs on virtual servers in Singapore using what it calls “smart routing.” ProtonVPN users will still be able to spoof Indian IPs, they’ll just be doing so through Singapore instead of somewhere on the subcontinent.
ProtonVPN’s decision to give up its Indian servers is the latest in an exodus of VPN providers. ExpressVPN, Surfshark, and NordVPN, to name just three, upped sticks back when the new VPN crackdown was announced in June.
