ExpressVPN launches tool to block child sexual abuse material

ExpressVPN and the Internet Watch Foundation have worked together to restrict Internet access to domains containing known child sexual abuse material, namely The companies announced on Wednesday.

ExpressVPN has developed a new technology, OpenBoundary, that will “enable network operators to safely and transparently restrict access to verified criminal domains,” ExpressVPN said in a press release. OpenBoundary restricts access to all child sexual abuse domains identified and verified by the IWF.

ExpressVPN will use OpenBoundary with CyberGhost VPN and Private Internet Access, according to the press release. The company is also working to make OpenBoundary an open source tool, meaning anyone can view and use it.

“By doing so, the company calls on other VPN providers, ISPs and cloud platforms to adopt similar safeguards and upgrade their privacy-preserving infrastructure,” ExpressVPN said.

A VPN, or virtual private network, hides user information, and Express VPN will continue to do so. However, because VPNs hide identity and location, they can also be misused by individuals who want to access illegal content anonymously. If someone using ExpressVPN, or any service using OpenBoundary, tries to access a domain containing illegal material that has been added to the list of blocked providers, they will be blocked from doing so.

“OpenBoundary does not represent a breakthrough in encryption. It is a simple, broad-scale DNS control used to block access to known child sexual abuse material sites,” Peter Membry, chief research officer at ExpressVPN, said in the statement. “There’s no broken encryption, no traffic inspections, no surveillance. It’s deliberately straightforward, because privacy systems lose trust when they become opaque.”

OpenBoundary is part of the company’s Not on My Network initiative, which it created to find new ways to “enhance privacy and protection, and lead the industry toward a safer digital environment for families and children.”

The company does not claim to solve the problem of online exploitation.

“This is much bigger than any single technical procedure,” Membry said. “What we’re saying is that privacy infrastructure doesn’t have to carry everything indiscriminately. With clear boundaries and careful engineering, it’s possible to act without weakening the protections that millions of people rely on.”