NordVPN is clarifying that it will comply with information requests from international law enforcement after publishing a blog post in 2017 saying that it wouldn’t.
The company pointed out the change to PCMag on Wednesday, a day after Europol announced it had shut down a separate VPN provider called VPNLabs.net for allegedly facilitating cybercrime. In the same announcement, Europol implied VPNLab.net had refused to cooperate with authorities, which led to the takedown.
“We will comply with lawful requests as long as they are delivered according to all the laws and regulations,” NordVPN says. “We are a company that protects the security and privacy of our customers, but we operate according to laws and regulations.”
The statement is notably different from what NordVPN wrote in a 2017 blog post when addressing how the company handled warrants and subpoenas from government agencies.
“NordVPN operates under the jurisdiction of Panama and will not comply with requests from foreign governments and law enforcement agencies,” the company said at the time.
However, it seems NordVPN edited the original blog post on Wednesday to change the phrasing. The post now reads: “NordVPN operates under the jurisdiction of Panama and will only comply with requests from foreign governments and law enforcement agencies if these requests are delivered according to laws and regulations.”
But perhaps the most startling change is how NordVPN now says it can log a user’s VPN activity under a law enforcement request.
“We are 100% committed to our zero-logs policy – to ensure users’ ultimate privacy and security, we never log their activity unless ordered by a court in an appropriate, legal way,” the blog post now reads.
NordVPN didn’t elaborate on the company’s shifting stance and when it exactly occurred. However, the VPN provider’s current privacy policy—which was last updated in July—does contain a section about information requests.
“We carefully review each request to make sure it satisfies laws applicable to our company, laws of requesting country, international norms and our internal policies,” the company notes.
Despite the change, NordVPN’s real-time “warrant canary” says the company has never received national security letters, gag orders, or warrants from government organizations demanding user information. It has also long maintained it would have little information to give law enforcement anyway, citing NordVPN’s policy of never logging customer VPN activity.
Still, the changes may alarm customers who expected complete privacy from NordVPN, one of the most popular VPN providers on the market. But it’s important to note that many other VPN providers do accept and can comply with law enforcement information requests to varying degrees. So customers should read their VPN provider’s privacy policy closely if they’re worried about law enforcement information requests.
