i2Coalition Opens Public Comment Period for the VPN Trust Initiative (VTI) Principles

The Internet Infrastructure Coalition (the “i2Coalition”) headed an effort to draft a set of common principles to serve as a baseline for how VPN providers should operate, which culminated in the VPN Trust Initiative (VTI) Principles, which launched September 29, 2020.

The VTI Principles aim to offer a comprehensive set of best practices for VPN providers that bolster consumer confidence and provider accountability and ultimately increase VPN adoption and access to the technology’s benefits. They have been informed by input from civil society and other outside experts to protect the privacy and security of VPN users, offer practical policy guidelines for VPN providers and ensure policymakers, regulators and the wider market have access to criteria for evaluating these technologies.

In our newly launched Request for Comment, our VTI working group is seeking input and feedback for the further consideration and potential adoption of new amendments. The RFC is also used to guide implementation work, reviews, and operational activities. The comment period ends April 9, 2021.

This request for comment includes five sections corresponding to each of the five key areas for the Principles, and respondents can choose to provide input on only sections where they have feedback. There is also an opportunity to provide overall feedback on the VTI Principles at the end.

All input is enormously valuable and given careful consideration.

If you have any questions regarding this Request for Comment, please contact [email protected].