ExpressVPN Becomes First Major VPN to Block Child Sexual Abuse Material via IWF Partnership
In a significant shift for the privacy-focused industry, ExpressVPN has announced it will become one of the first major virtual private network providers to actively block access to websites hosting child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
The company is partnering with the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), the UK-based organization dedicated to identifying and removing CSAM from the internet. The collaboration aims to tackle what Dr. Peter Membrey, ExpressVPN’s chief engineering officer, describes as “universally despised and despicable” content—without compromising the core privacy protections users expect from a VPN service.
According to Dr. Membrey, the implementation relies on a “simple, well-scoped DNS control” that blocks access to domains verified by the IWF as hosting CSAM. He emphasizes that this approach maintains user privacy: there will be “no broken encryption”, “no traffic inspection”, and “no monitoring” of user activity.
“It’s deliberately straightforward, because privacy systems lose trust when they become opaque.”
While the technical execution is intentionally minimal, the decision represents a notable ideological shift for the VPN sector. Historically, providers have avoided content moderation to preserve their neutrality and protect user anonymity. ExpressVPN’s move challenges that convention.
“No one’s been willing to take this step before,” Dr. Membrey told Sky News. “For too long, too many [VPN providers] have had this concern about, ‘If we take a stand, will there be a massive backlash because people won’t understand?'”
Under the new policy, ExpressVPN will prevent access to all websites identified by the IWF that exist solely to distribute child sexual abuse material. The blocklist is narrowly scoped to avoid overreach, focusing only on domains with no legitimate purpose beyond hosting illegal content.
Still, the decision could spark debate. VPN companies have traditionally resisted any form of network regulation, fearing it might erode user trust or set precedents for broader censorship. Critics may argue that even well-intentioned blocking amounts to “policing” the internet.
Neil Prowse, head of memberships at the IWF, acknowledges this tension but sees momentum building across the industry.
“[There] is certainly a barrier in the whole VPN space, obviously, privacy is a unique part of the service offering that they push out there. But the needle is shifting, I’d say, in the VPN sector. There’s an understanding that this is different to blocking against gambling or pornography,” he said. “When it comes to child sexual abuse, this is universally accepted. It’s wrong. It’s criminal, it’s harmful.”
Dr. Membrey argues that privacy and protection aren’t mutually exclusive. He advocates for a nuanced approach that addresses extreme harms without undermining foundational privacy principles.
“It’s not a binary choice; it’s not a case of everything must be locked down and anonymous or everything must be completely open and monitored. There are things that we can do in the middle,” he said. “When you have something that is so universally despised and despicable as CSAM material, that doesn’t get a free pass on our network.”
While blocking CSAM may seem like an obvious step for any online platform, adoption has been slower than expected. Mr. Prowse notes that the IWF has offered its verification services free of charge to organizations facing abuse, but uptake has been limited.
“We have offered [a free service to check for CSAM] out to organisations that we see are being heavily abused,” he said. “There has been a lot of radio silence about uptake of that, so that’s a strong indicator that maybe traffic flow is more important to some platforms than doing the right thing.”
Kerry Smith, chief executive of the IWF, welcomed ExpressVPN’s commitment as a model for responsible innovation.
“We applaud ExpressVPN’s innovative approach that balances its commitment to online child safety and online privacy. The IWF is dedicated to tackling the pernicious and pervasive spread of child sexual abuse online and we rely on strong partnerships with the tech industry to help us do so. By coming onboard as an IWF member, ExpressVPN now has access to our world-leading datasets and technology, allowing the organisation to better protect users across its entire VPN network.”
In a move designed to accelerate industry-wide adoption, ExpressVPN plans to open-source the DNS-blocking technology. The goal is to lower the barrier for other VPN providers to implement similar protections without reinventing the wheel.
What This Means for Users
- Your browsing privacy remains protected: no traffic inspection or logging is introduced
- Access to verified CSAM-hosting domains will be blocked at the DNS level
- The blocklist is maintained by the independent, expert-led Internet Watch Foundation
- This policy targets only the most severe illegal content—not political speech, adult content, or other contested material
- Other VPN providers may follow suit as the open-source implementation becomes available