Parliamentary panel's proposed VPN ban draws flak from users, industry

A ban would open the door to increased censorship, including blocks to popular apps such as WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter that a VPN would be able to circumvent, say experts

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs' recent suggestion to permanently block the use of virtual private networks has drawn flak from users online as well as industry that deals with the use of VPN.

The report by the committee, tabled on August 10, states: "The Committee notes with anxiety the technological challenge posed by Virtual Private Network (VPN) services and Dark Web that can bypass cyber security walls and allow criminals to remain anonymous online. As of date, VPN can easily be downloaded, as many websites are providing such facilities and advertising them. The Committee, therefore, recommends that the Ministry of Home Affairs should coordinate with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to identify and permanently block such VPNs with the help of internet service providers."

Cybersecurity firm Kapsersky describes VPN as a means to encrypt internet traffic and disguise a user's online identity. This makes it more difficult for third parties to track their activities online and steal data. The encryption takes place in real time, and hides the user's IP address.

“It’s highly disingenuous to conflate VPNs with the dark web and criminality. A VPN is simply a useful tool used by everyday people all around the world to keep their browsing history private from their Internet Service Providers (ISPs), who may sell that data or share it with third parties. It’s also the only way to use unsecured public networks without running the risk of being hacked," said Simon Migliano, Head of Research at Internet research firm Top10VPN.

The Home Affairs Parliamentary Committee also recommends that a coordination mechanism be developed with international agencies to ensure that these VPNs are "blocked permanently".

A ban would open the door to increased censorship in the future, including blocks to popular apps such as WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter that a VPN would be able to circumvent, said  Migliano

“I should also point out that as a VPN does not grant complete anonymity, a ban would do little to help fight crime. It’s already possible for law enforcement backed with a court order to piece together criminal activity online from multiple sources, such as from the server logs of VPN providers, ISPs, and website and app operators,” he added.

In addition to use by individuals, VPNs are also widely used by businesses to keep their data and internal applications safe from the open Internet.

One of the provisions of the liberalised Other Service Providers (OSP) guidelines last year, that enabled most technology services and business process management companies to work from home during the pandemic, was allowing the use of VPNs.

According to a report by ResearchAndMarkets, during the COVID-19 crisis, the global market for VPN was estimated at $35.4 billion in 2020, and is projected to reach a size of $107.6 billion by 2027, growing at 17.2 per cent over the period 2020-2027.