A major VPN service is becoming one of the first to block websites known for hosting child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
ExpressVPN is partnering with the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), the UK’s CSAM watchdog, to tackle the “universally despised and despicable” content, according to Dr Peter Membrey, chief engineering officer at the VPN provider.
Using a “simple, well-scoped DNS control”, he says user privacy will be protected and there’ll be “no broken encryption”, “no traffic inspection”, “no monitoring”.
“It’s deliberately straightforward, because privacy systems lose trust when they become opaque.”
The move is less about an impressive technological innovation and more about an ideological leap.
“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?’
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“I think it takes courage to be the first company to go out there and say, ‘You know what? We’re not going to tolerate this.'”
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ExpressVPN will prevent access to all websites known to the IWF that are set up solely for the purposes of hosting child sexual abuse material.
But it could be a controversial move if the company is seen as “policing” the internet – VPN companies have traditionally been wary of regulating their networks in case it is seen as impacting user privacy.
Dr Membrey believes there should be a middle ground.
“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.”
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Kerry Smith, chief executive of the IWF, praised the move.
“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.”
The technology will be open-sourced to encourage other VPN providers to do the same.
