VPN provider pulls out of India over push to ‘limit internet freedom’

An order by Indian regulators requiring Internet companies to store their users’ real names and track their usage history has alarmed digital privacy advocates and virtual private network providers, which have begun to pull out of the country in protest. ExpressVPN, a leading virtual private network firm based in the British Virgin Islands, said that it would shut down its servers in India. The company said that it “refuses to participate in the Indian government’s attempts to limit internet freedom” and warned that the order requiring VPN companies to store their users’ data for up to five years could be abused by authorities. Indian authorities have argued that the new rules, which are to take effect June 27, are necessary for law enforcement to track down perpetrators of cybercrimes such as fraud, which is prevalent in a country with some 600 million Internet users. But digital privacy advocates say the rules go beyond what most Western governments demand of Internet companies and align more closely with outliers such as China, which is known for draconian Internet regulation.