The UK looked set to crack down on VPNs as it tightens the rules for children online. Instead it has backed off, and its own research is the reason why.
Online Safety Minister Kanishka Narayan put it plainly on the BBC. “We decided not to limit VPNs,” he said. A VPN hides a user’s real location, which is one way to slip past an age check.
The decision landed alongside the UK’s new midnight social-media curfew for 16 and 17-year-olds. Technology Secretary Liz Kendall confirmed it in a written statement, saying VPNs have “legitimate privacy and security uses.”
What the research found
The government had commissioned a study of more than 2,000 children, and the numbers undercut the case for a ban. About a quarter of 11 to 17-year-olds have used a VPN. Most do so for privacy, not to break the rules, the report found.
Only around 7% of children use a VPN to reach age-restricted content. Far more simply lie. Nearly half who dodge an age check just enter a false date of birth. The VPN, in other words, is not the main loophole.
The burden shifts to platforms
Rather than police the tools, the government is pushing the job onto the platforms. They must now take “robust steps” to spot and stop under-age users getting around age checks.
Ofcom must report by October on what a robust over-16 age check looks like. The government has separately asked it, with the data regulator, to study how platforms can better detect VPN use. Ministers will also talk to VPN providers about voluntary action, and say they will “keep this area under close review.”
A win for privacy campaigners
The retreat is a clear win for digital-rights groups. A coalition of more than 20 tech firms and campaigners, including Proton and Mozilla, had urged ministers to leave VPNs alone. Mozilla warned that age-gating them would create a cybersecurity mess while failing to protect children.
Not everyone thinks the wider plan works. The curfew and the feature limits can be switched off, and critics say that leaves an obvious gap. The government is “leaving the side door open,” as one analyst put it.
The move stands out against the global mood. It sits alongside the UK’s coming under-16 social-media ban, while Australia’s teen ban has been dogged by VPN workarounds and New Zealand recently ruled out its own limits. Even the US courts are wrestling with who runs the internet’s age gate. For now, Britain has chosen evidence over a blanket ban.
Stephan is the sports journalist for the Maple Grove Report.
