Statement by VPN Guild on the EU Recognition of VPN Access
This statement acknowledges two important decisions made by EU institutions. These decisions affirm that the right to use a VPN is not a technical privilege, but rather a fundamental aspect of the right to privacy, freedom of expression, and access to information.
ADVOCACYSTATEMENTSEU
August 27, 2026
July 2026 will be remembered as the month when European institutions spoke twice — in two different legal contexts — with one clear voice: the right to use a VPN is not a technical privilege. It is a fundamental component of the right to privacy, freedom of expression, and access to information.
VPN Guild believes that these two landmark decisions did not emerge in a vacuum. They are, in significant part, the result of years of sustained advocacy by our organisation, our members, and the broader digital rights community — including our ongoing work with the United Front coalition and civil society partners who have consistently pushed for formal legal recognition of VPN access as a protected right. We are proud to count this month among the most meaningful outcomes of that collective effort.
The Anne Frank Ruling: VPNs Confirmed as Lawful Tools
On 15 July 2026, the Court of Justice of the European Union issued its judgment in Anne Frank Fonds v. Anne Frank Stichting (Case C-788/24). The Court held that VPN providers are neutral technical intermediaries. They do not grant access to protected content, and they bear no liability for how end users choose to route their traffic.
This is the first ruling at the level of the EU's highest court to draw a clear line: a VPN service is a tool, as legally neutral as a web browser or an email client. The judgment sets a binding precedent across all 27 EU member states and provides a powerful reference point for jurisdictions worldwide that are weighing the legal status of VPN technology.
The VK Sanctions: Blocking VPNs Recognised as a Human Rights Violation
Two days earlier, on 13 July 2026, the Council of the European Union adopted Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1708, imposing sanctions on VK Company, Communication Platform LLC (developer of the state-mandated Max application), and four associated entities and individuals.
For the first time in EU sanctions practice, the official Statement of Reasons explicitly names violations of users' digital rights as grounds for listing — including monitoring users' VPN activity, participating in a state-organised campaign to block VPN services, displacing independent alternatives through mandatory pre-installation of a surveillance-capable application, and sharing user data with security services.
The Council's finding is unambiguous: restricting access to VPNs is not a technical or commercial decision. It is conduct that enables the repression of civil society — and it now carries legal consequences in the form of asset freezes and travel bans.
Toward a Brussels Effect in Digital Rights
Taken together, these two decisions form what VPN Guild regards as a new gold standard for the assessment of companies' compliance with digital rights. The CJEU ruling establishes that VPN providers are protected actors in the information ecosystem. The Council Regulation establishes that those who suppress VPN access are accountable actors — individually and institutionally.
We believe these standards have the potential to generate a Brussels Effect: the well-documented tendency of EU legal frameworks to become de facto global benchmarks, adopted or mirrored by regulators, courts, investors, and corporations far beyond Europe's borders. Any company, platform, or government that monitors VPN usage, restricts VPN access, or pressures providers to cooperate with surveillance infrastructure should now understand that European law has established a clear precedent for how such conduct is to be evaluated.
Our Commitment
VPN Guild calls on international organisations, national regulators, and industry associations to treat July 2026 as a turning point — and to use both decisions as reference standards in the development of global frameworks for corporate accountability in digital rights.
We extend our deepest appreciation to the United Front coalition, our partner organisations in the digital human rights community, and the legal advocates whose sustained efforts helped bring these outcomes into being. This is a shared achievement.
The right to access a VPN is the right to communicate privately, to seek information freely, and to exist online without surveillance.
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