The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has clarified that it has no legal authority to regulate virtual private network (VPN) applications, stating that such matters fall under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), The Hindustan Times reported.

In a letter dated February 27, TRAI informed the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) that since VPN apps are governed by the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000, and its associated rules, any regulatory decisions regarding them must come from MeitY. The clarification comes in response to DoT’s request for TRAI’s recommendations on monitoring and controlling the misuse of VPN services.

TRAI Secretary Atul Kumar Chaudhary, in the letter, stated, “As application VPN service providers are not licensed entities under the Telegraph Act, TRAI is not empowered under the TRAI Act, 1997, to furnish regulatory recommendations on application VPNs. Hence, the reference seeking recommendations on monitoring and controlling VPN misuse falls outside TRAI’s regulatory scope and is hereby returned.”