Are VPNs legal? Where they're banned, restricted or regulated

Are VPNs legal in the US, UK, Canada, Australia and the EU?

Yes. In these countries and most others, using a VPN is legal. Governments there publish advice on using them: the UK's National Cyber Security Centre, for example, tells staff on public Wi-Fi to use a VPN before logging in to work systems. Companies rely on VPNs every day for remote work.

What stays illegal is the underlying act. A VPN doesn't make copyright infringement, fraud, harassment or hacking legal anywhere. It also doesn't change a website's terms of use. Watching another country's streaming catalogue usually breaks the service's terms, which is a contract issue rather than a crime in most places. See is torrenting illegal and why streaming services block VPNs.

Countries that ban, restrict or regulate VPNs

Freedom House, which tracks internet freedom in 72 countries, wrote in November 2024 that governments including Russia, Turkey, Belarus, Myanmar and Iran had expanded restrictions on VPNs. The table summarizes what reputable sources report. Details for each country follow.

China

In January 2017, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) announced a campaign requiring government approval for VPN services and for cross-border connections, including VPNs, used for business. Radio Free Asia reported in January 2018 that unlicensed VPNs would be targeted under rules taking effect on 31 March that year. Freedom House notes that VPN apps were removed from app stores in China in 2017. A 2020 analysis by the law firm Bird & Bird said enforcement had been aimed mostly at unauthorized commercial VPN services rather than individual, non-commercial use.

Russia

Vladimir Putin signed a law on 30 July 2017 banning technology that gives access to websites blocked in Russia, including VPNs and anonymizers that don't follow the government's blocklist, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International reported. Freedom House says Russia began blocking VPNs in 2021, stepped this up after 2022, and that the regulator Roskomnadzor blocked 197 VPNs in late October 2024. Before the March 2024 presidential election, Russia also made advertising and promoting banned VPNs an offense.

In 2025 Russia went further. The Moscow Times reported that a law signed on 31 July 2025 punishes deliberately searching for material officially listed as extremist, and treats VPN use as an aggravating circumstance in criminal cases. Using a VPN by itself isn't enough for a conviction under that law, according to the same report.

Iran

In February 2024 Iran's Supreme Council of Cyberspace issued a resolution, endorsed by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, banning the use of unauthorized tools that bypass internet filtering, RFE/RL reported. Buying and selling VPNs had already been banned. Some Iranian legal experts disputed the council's authority to make such a rule, and how it would be enforced was unclear at the time.

Belarus

In February 2015 Belarus ordered the blocking of anonymizers, including Tor and proxy servers, Global Voices and Meduza reported. Freedom House reported that the state operator Beltelecom blocked VPNs in May 2024, which disrupted an opposition online vote.

Turkmenistan

RFE/RL's Turkmen service has reported that VPNs are illegal in Turkmenistan, that major sites and VPN websites are blocked, that people applying for home internet were made to swear on the Koran not to use VPNs, and that people who installed VPNs have been arrested (August 2021). The monitoring group CIVICUS has also reported intimidation of VPN users.

North Korea

The question hardly arises. The Berkman Klein Center's Internet Monitor profile says the general population can only use Kwangmyong, a government-run national intranet, and cannot connect to the global internet, while a few government elites can. Visitors should assume any connection is monitored.

United Arab Emirates

The UAE law targets misuse. Article 10 of Federal Decree-Law No. 34 of 2021 on combating rumors and cybercrimes punishes circumventing an IP address to commit a crime or to avoid being caught. The penalty is temporary imprisonment and/or a fine of AED 500,000 to 2,000,000, Gulf News reported in December 2024 when the Public Prosecution issued a public reminder. Lawyers writing about the law note that the offense depends on criminal intent. Whether using a VPN only to reach services blocked in the UAE is itself an offense is less clear, so get local advice before relying on it.

Turkey

Freedom House reported that in late November 2023 Turkish authorities restricted access to 16 of the most popular VPNs.

India

VPNs are legal in India, but providers face strict record-keeping. On 28 April 2022, CERT-In, India's computer emergency response team, issued directions requiring VPN providers, data centers and cloud providers to keep customers' verified names, contact details, IP addresses, the period of service and the stated purpose for using the service, for at least five years, even after an account is closed. The rules took effect in late June 2022. The Electronic Frontier Foundation said they would end the ability to offer anonymous service, and noted that CERT-In later clarified that corporate and enterprise VPNs were not covered.

Myanmar

Myanmar's military government enacted Cybersecurity Law No. 1/2025 on 1 January 2025. Radio Free Asia reported that it sets prison terms and fines for unauthorized VPN installation or service. The law firm Tilleke & Gibbins said the VPN rules regulate providers, who need ministry permission, rather than banning use by individuals. The Star reported the law came into force on 30 July 2025. Freedom House reported that the junta launched a firewall in May 2024 that blocked many VPNs.

What this means if you travel

• Check the country's rules before you go, from your government's travel advice and recent reporting. Our VPN for travel guide covers this.
• Install and test your VPN at home. Provider websites and app stores are often blocked in restrictive countries.
• Don't use a VPN to do anything that's illegal locally, and don't assume foreigners are treated more leniently.
• In countries that block VPNs, connections may fail often. Providers' obfuscated modes may help on some networks; nothing works everywhere. See WireGuard vs OpenVPN for why some protocols are easier to block.