BUCHAREST, RO / ACCESS Newswire / October 30, 2026 / Planet VPN, a free virtual private network (VPN) service operated by Romania-based FREE VPN PLANET S.R.L., has released an updated edition of its guide to VPN laws in Canada, adding a new section on Bill C-22, the Lawful Access Act, 2026. The guide explains whether VPNs are legal in Canada, what the federal lawful access bill would and would not change for the people who use them, and where the legal line sits for streaming, travel, online gambling and cryptocurrency. Planet VPN has also committed to updating the guide at every stage of the bill, from Senate study to royal assent and the regulations that would follow.
Canadians use VPNs every day for ordinary reasons: protecting personal and financial information on public Wi-Fi, connecting securely to work systems from home, and keeping their browsing private on networks they do not control. As Bill C-22 moves through Parliament, many of those users are asking the same question: is a VPN still legal in Canada, and will it remain legal?
Are VPNs Legal in Canada?
The updated guide answers that question first. Using a VPN is legal in Canada, and Bill C-22 would not change that. The bill does not ban or restrict personal VPN use. Instead, it sets out what electronic service providers must be able to do when presented with lawful orders, and what information police can request with and without a warrant.
The guide is equally clear about what a VPN does not do. A VPN does not make an unlawful activity lawful. Copyright infringement and fraud remain illegal however a person connects, and using unauthorized gambling or cryptocurrency platforms carries its own legal risks. The guide covers each of these areas separately, so readers can see where ordinary privacy use ends and legal risk begins.
What Bill C-22 Could Mean for VPN Providers
Bill C-22 was introduced on March 12, 2026, passed the House of Commons on June 18 and, as of October 22, is being studied by a Senate committee. The bill has drawn wide public attention, including The Globe and Mail's explainer on what to know about Bill C-22.
VPN and privacy companies have been among the bill's most vocal critics. On October 6, Toronto-based Psiphon, a censorship-circumvention service that began as a University of Toronto Citizen Lab project and has about 20 million monthly users worldwide, said it was preparing to move its operations out of Canada if the bill passes in its current form. Toronto-based Windscribe has said it is exploring a move out of Canada and would rather relocate than start logging users, and Switzerland-based Proton has said it would never accept a requirement that contradicts its no-logs policy.
The new section of the guide explains the parts of the bill most relevant to VPN users. The bill's definition of an electronic service provider covers services offered to people in Canada, which means VPN companies could fall within its scope. The heaviest obligations would apply to "core providers", a class of companies still to be defined by regulation. Core providers could be required to retain certain metadata for up to six months, a limit reduced from one year during committee study, but not the content of communications or web-browsing history.
The guide also sets out what remains undecided: which companies will count as core providers, which categories of metadata would apply, and how confidential ministerial orders and the bill's safeguard against creating systemic security vulnerabilities would work in practice. Federal officials have told senators that the first regulations would likely take 18 months to two years after royal assent, so many of the details that matter most to VPN users are still ahead.
A Guide That Will Be Updated at Every Stage
Planet VPN will update the guide after each step in the bill's progress: the Senate committee report, third reading, royal assent, the coming into force of Part 1 and the publication of draft regulations. Each update will be dated at the top of the page and recorded in a timeline, so readers can see what changed and when. The official record of Bill C-22 on LEGISinfo remains the primary source for the bill's text and status.
"The question Canadians ask most about VPNs is simple: is it legal? Today the answer is yes, and Bill C-22 doesn't change that," said Roman Bogoslavsky, author of Planet VPN's guide to VPN laws in Canada. "What the bill could change is what service providers must keep and be able to produce, and much of that will be decided in regulations that haven't been written yet. We believe a VPN company should be open about the law it operates under, so we'd rather give Canadians a dated, plain-language record of each step than leave them to piece it together from headlines."
How Planet VPN Protects Its Users
Planet VPN creates an encrypted connection between a user's device and a VPN server, protecting data sent over public Wi-Fi in airports, hotels, cafés and campuses, and keeping browsing activity private from the network operator. The service is designed for lawful, everyday privacy and security, and its educational content consistently explains the legal limits of VPN use alongside its benefits.
The free plan gives users access to servers in the United States, with one location on the East Coast and one on the West Coast, as well as the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany and France, at no cost. The Premium plan adds more than 100 locations, including Canadian servers that Canadians travelling abroad can use to connect to Canadian online services the way they would at home.
Planet VPN is operated from Romania, a European Union member state outside the Five Eyes, Nine Eyes and Fourteen Eyes intelligence-sharing alliances. Romania's Constitutional Court struck down the country's data-retention laws in 2009 and again in 2014. Planet VPN says it does not log users' browsing activity.
Planet VPN's Android app has also passed an independent Mobile Application Security Assessment (MASA) under the App Defense Alliance. MASA reviews are carried out by authorized security labs against the OWASP Mobile Application Security Verification Standard, which covers areas such as data storage, encryption and network communication.
Clear Information for Canadian VPN Users
Lawful access legislation is complex, and much of the public discussion focuses on technology companies and government agencies rather than on the people who use these services every day. The updated guide from Planet VPN brings the questions that matter to Canadian VPN users into one place: whether VPNs remain legal, what Bill C-22 could require from providers, what is still undecided, and which activities remain unlawful regardless of how a person connects.
Because the bill is still before the Senate and its regulations have yet to be drafted, the guide will continue to change. Readers are encouraged to check the date of the latest update and to confirm the bill's current status through official parliamentary sources.
About Planet VPN
Planet VPN is a free VPN service operated by FREE VPN PLANET S.R.L., based in Bucharest, Romania. The service offers free servers in five countries, more than 100 Premium locations and apps for popular platforms including Windows, macOS, Android, iOS and Android TV, as well as browser extensions such as Chrome, with support for many other devices and browsers. Planet VPN also publishes guides on online privacy, internet security and VPN laws around the world.
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SOURCE: Planet VPN (FREE VPN PLANET S.R.L.)
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