France- and Netherlands-led operation dismantles First VPN service linked to cybercrime

Thursday, May 21, 2026Technology & SocietyWell-covered4 frames

Authorities said First VPN was dismantled in an international law-enforcement operation led by France and the Netherlands, with support from Europol and Eurojust.
The operation took place on May 19 and 20, and authorities said 33 servers were seized in multiple European countries.
French prosecutors said First VPN was widely used by cybercriminals to hide their identity or the origin of their online activity.
Multiple reports said the service was advertised on Russian-speaking cybercrime forums.
French authorities said their investigation began in December 2021 after repeated use of the service was found in offenses harming French victims.
Authorities said the main administrator, located in Ukraine, was questioned there at the request of the French investigating judge.
Europol said First VPN featured in many major cybercrime investigations it supported in recent years, indicating the takedown could aid broader ongoing cases beyond this single service.
Some reports said investigators identified users of the service after the operation, but the scope of those identifications and any resulting charges were not detailed in the source pool.

How left and right are reading this

Both agree: A cross-border takedown of a service authorities said was repeatedly used to conceal cybercrime is a legitimate law-enforcement response, with consequences likely extending beyond one VPN because the service appeared across multiple major investigations.
They split on: Less a disagreement than a question of emphasis: protecting the public by disrupting criminal infrastructure used across cases, versus stressing a narrowly targeted action against alleged misuse rather than online privacy tools in general.

Authorities said First VPN was dismantled in an international law-enforcement operation led by France and the Netherlands, with support from Europol and Eurojust.
The operation took place on May 19 and 20, and authorities said 33 servers were seized in multiple European countries.
French prosecutors said First VPN was widely used by cybercriminals to hide their identity or the origin of their online activity.
Multiple reports said the service was advertised on Russian-speaking cybercrime forums.
French authorities said their investigation began in December 2021 after repeated use of the service was found in offenses harming French victims.
Authorities said the main administrator, located in Ukraine, was questioned there at the request of the French investigating judge.
Europol said First VPN featured in many major cybercrime investigations it supported in recent years, indicating the takedown could aid broader ongoing cases beyond this single service.
Some reports said investigators identified users of the service after the operation, but the scope of those identifications and any resulting charges were not detailed in the source pool.