A proposed amendment to the law for confidence in the digital economy targets VPNs available in application stores. The latter should ensure that the VPN is not used to access a network not subject to French or European law. This would almost amount to banning them.
The government is following through on its ideas. Last month, a group of deputies from the Renaissance group tabled an amendment to the bill to “secure and regulate the digital space to restore the confidence necessary for the success of the digital transition”. It proposed nothing more and nothing less than banning the use of a VPN on social networks and was withdrawn in the face of the outcry that followed.
Virtual private networks definitely seem to pose a problem for certain members of the National Assembly since a new amendment now attacks Mobile VPNs. Supposed to be added to the 2004 law for confidence in the digital economyan article states: “Software application stores ensure that the virtual private network mobile applications that they offer, for a fee or free of charge, do not allow access to an internet network not subject to the French or European legislation and regulations”.
Draft amendment could result in banning VPNs from app stores
In other words, Google or Apple, for example, should set up a system to verify that the VPNs downloadable from their Store are not used to circumvent the legislation of the country or Europe. No avenue is proposed, and it is difficult to imagine how such control could exist. It is extremely likely that this would lead to the outright removal of VPNs from the app storesa “simpler” measure to deploy to comply with the law.
Read also – 70% of VPNs don’t protect your privacy, which is a shame!
The amendment itself recognizes “the technical impossibility of regulating the use of VPNs, in particular with the aim of circumventing the law”. The goal is to “highlight this subject in order, ultimately, to find a relevant and effective technical solution”. As it stands, there is therefore very little chance that the amendment will pass.