24 VPN Companies and Privacy Groups Just Told the UK Government: Don't Touch VPNs
ExpressVPN, NordVPN, Surfshark, Mozilla, and Amnesty International — competitors and rivals on every other day — signed one open letter together. When an industry this fragmented unites overnight, pay attention.
In the biggest coordinated action the VPN industry has ever taken, 24 organizations — spanning the largest VPN providers, browser makers, and human rights groups — have signed an open letter urging the UK government not to restrict VPN services under its proposed online safety regulations. The signatories include direct competitors like ExpressVPN, NordVPN, and Surfshark, alongside Mozilla and Amnesty International.
Companies that spend millions competing against each other don't co-sign letters unless the threat is existential. This is currently the biggest debate in the VPN world — and its outcome will shape what privacy tools remain available to ordinary people in one of the world's largest democracies.
The open letter at a glance
- 24 signatories: VPN providers, browser makers, and civil-liberties organizations
- Notable names: ExpressVPN, NordVPN, Surfshark, Mozilla, Amnesty International
- Target: proposed UK online safety regulations that could impact VPN services
- Core argument: restricting VPNs punishes law-abiding users without achieving the rules' stated goals
- Context: VPN downloads in the UK surged after Online Safety Act age checks took effect
How We Got Here
The letter doesn't come out of nowhere. Since the UK's Online Safety Act age-verification checks took effect, millions of British adults chose to install a VPN rather than hand over ID documents or face scans to browse the internet — a surge we covered in detail here. Regulators responded by framing VPN usage itself as a "loophole" — and proposals began circulating that would treat VPN services as part of the problem to be regulated.
That framing is what pushed the industry into a single trench. The letter's signatories argue that VPNs are not a loophole but core security infrastructure: the same technology that lets someone bypass an age gate is what protects a journalist's sources, a remote worker's corporate login, and an ordinary person's browsing history from being sold by their ISP.
The Case the Industry Is Making
VPNs are mainstream security tools
Businesses require them for remote work. Banks recommend them on public Wi-Fi. Restricting them degrades security for millions of people who have never tried to bypass anything.
Restrictions won't achieve the stated goals
Determined bad actors have countless other tools. A VPN restriction primarily affects the law-abiding majority — the people using VPNs exactly as intended.
It sets a precedent democracies should fear
VPN restriction has historically been the domain of authoritarian internet control. Civil-liberties groups like Amnesty International signed precisely because of what normalizing it in the UK would signal worldwide.
Privacy is the point, not the loophole
People turn to VPNs because they don't want to upload identity documents to browse, or have their ISP log and sell their history. That demand is legitimate — and the letter argues policy should address why people need privacy tools, not remove the tools.
What This Means for You
First, the reassurance: VPNs remain fully legal in the UK— nothing has been banned, and this letter is the industry acting early to keep it that way. But the direction of travel matters. Two years ago, the idea of a Western democracy restricting VPNs was fringe. Today it's a live policy debate serious enough to unite 24 rival organizations in public opposition.
The practical takeaway is the same one we've made before: privacy tools are easiest to adopt while they're unrestricted. An established VPN subscription with apps already installed on your devices is much harder to take away than the ability to sign up under some future regime. If you've been on the fence, the industry's own behavior this week tells you how seriously to take the moment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did 24 organizations sign an open letter about VPNs?
They're responding to proposed UK online safety regulations that could restrict VPN services. The signatories argue restrictions would harm millions of ordinary users' security and privacy without achieving the rules' goals.
Are VPNs being banned in the UK?
No. VPNs are fully legal in the UK today. The letter is a preemptive, united push to stop restriction proposals before they become law.
Who signed the letter?
24 organizations, including major VPN providers ExpressVPN, NordVPN, and Surfshark, browser maker Mozilla, and the human rights organization Amnesty International.
Does this affect SoloFlight VPN users?
Not today — service continues as normal everywhere. SoloFlight requires no ID to sign up, keeps zero logs, and we watch regulatory developments closely so our users are always informed first.
Privacy worth fighting for. Protection worth having.
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