Dear officers of the FBI, Polizei Hessen, Politie Midden-Nederland, and the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency,

Perhaps you expected to see our operations resume here. Perhaps you expected a new website, an announcement about our services, or a response focused on the seizure of our domain.

Yes, I could have done that. I still could. Perhaps it would take a day, perhaps even less. You know that as well as I do. I could rebrand, build a new website, and carry on.

But that is not what I chose to do tonight. Perhaps this is the first time you have seen an open letter like this from a bulletproof hosting provider. I am not writing to make a point about the industry. I am writing because, before anything else, I am a human being, and I have moral principles that matter more to me than a domain or a business.

Instead, I am writing this open letter. Because if I did not say these words tonight, I would not be able to sleep peacefully.

Before I am the person behind Virtualine, I am a human being.

I understand that Virtualine’s business model has attracted scrutiny. I understand that there are serious allegations concerning our services, our customers, and our finances. Those matters deserve a fair investigation, and we will address them through the proper legal channels.

But reading the allegation that we knowingly hosted child sexual abuse material has affected me in a way I cannot simply set aside.

I regard the sexual exploitation of children as a crime against humanity in the moral sense of those words. I cannot remain silent when I am accused of knowingly enabling something I find so profoundly inhuman.

For five years, we have told our customers that CSAM is prohibited, without exception. This was not a rule invented after the seizure. It was part of our publicly stated policy, even in advertisements for services that others rightly regard as controversial.

We have never refused a request for cooperation concerning CSAM, nor have we knowingly remained silent when such material was reported to us. To the best of our records and understanding, we took action on reports of this nature within 24 hours. When we identified prohibited material associated with the customer described as “Vendor 1,” we ended our relationship with that customer.

I know that these statements must be examined against records, dates, and evidence. I am not asking anyone to accept them merely because I have written them.

But I am asking you to look carefully at the full chronology: what was reported to us, when we received it, what action we took, and when the relevant services were terminated.

For God's sake, you have seen the millions involved. Why would I knowingly put everything at risk over CSAM, especially in 2026, when Virtualine's business was going well? I understand that this question does not prove anything by itself. But it is a question I sincerely ask you to consider alongside the evidence.

Virtualine has been part of my life for five years. A domain can be seized. A business can be investigated. Our decisions can be questioned. I accept that none of us is above the law.

What is difficult to accept is being described as someone who knowingly facilitated the exploitation of children, when I believe the actions we took tell a different story.

I also want to be clear: this letter is not an attempt to minimize the suffering of victims or to shift attention away from them. Their protection matters far more than the reputation of any hosting company.

A personal request

To Theophani K. Stamos, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Darren B. Cox, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office: I ask you, respectfully, to review the complete record and the steps we took in response to the reports concerning Vendor 1.

To the officers and investigators involved in this operation: I respect the importance of your work in protecting victims. I ask only that our actions be assessed with the same care and seriousness as the allegations against us.

We remain willing to provide relevant information through lawful channels and to address the allegations in the appropriate proceedings.

I am not writing tonight because I am angry. I am writing because I am deeply hurt by this particular accusation, and because staying silent would feel like accepting something I do not believe to be true.

Please be fair. Please examine the dates, the notices, and our responses. If you genuinely wish to learn more about “Vendor 1”. Please do not cast suspicion on me and the tens of thousands of customers who have trusted Virtualine because of the actions attributed to a single customer. I want you to know that I am prepared to respond to your requests concerning “Vendor 1”.

With respect,