A brand new ban might see strategies of circumventing age checks on-line banned, in accordance with a session launched this week.
New VPN restrictions might cease youngsters accessing inappropriate content material (Picture: Getty)
A significant replace on a potential UK VPN ban for under-18s has been issued by the UK authorities as a part of a brand new session launched this week.
The Division for Science, Innovation and Know-how (DSIT) on Monday issued a session to the general public on potential modifications to VPN guidelines, in addition to entry to age-gated web sites by youngsters.
The federal government says it desires to ‘guarantee youngsters’s experiences on-line are protected and enriching’ and is proposing a number of potential plans that ‘construct on’ the On-line Security Act.
The act made it necessary for grownup web sites, boards and different companies so as to add age checks to make sure solely over-18s can entry them.
Many have since signed as much as Digital Non-public Networks (VPNs) in an effort to get across the new legislation.
Now the federal government, within the session, has issued a VPN replace because it appears to be like at the way to limit under-18s from utilizing VPNs.
It says that the federal government doesn’t wish to ban the ‘reliable and lawful use’ of VPNs by adults, however ‘wants to search out options’.
Choices put ahead within the session embody necessary age checks for VPN entry and banning youngsters from accessing VPNs.
The report says: “In shaping our new method, we should think about the way to cope with circumvention strategies.
“Many youngsters are technologically savvy and are probably to pay attention to potential technical and non-technical methods to bypass new guidelines or restrictions. We have to discover options which might be sturdy. On the identical time, our method should be proportionate, and it mustn’t inadvertently limit youngsters’s entry to useful on-line content material, nor limit the reliable and lawful use by adults of instruments similar to Digital Non-public Networks (VPNs), or comparable personal community applied sciences.
“VPN utilization greater than doubled within the UK following extremely efficient age assurance necessities changing into necessary, rising from about 650,000 day by day customers earlier than 25 July 2025 and peaking at over 1.4 million customers in mid-August 2025. This has progressively declined to round 9800,000 customers by the top of 2025.
“Because of the nature of VPNs, it’s unattainable to know what number of of those customers have been youngsters. Nevertheless, early proof doesn’t counsel the height in VPN use was pushed by youngsters looking for to bypass age assurance processes. There are various causes that youngsters could want to use a VPN, however the principle motive, as with adults, is to entry the privateness and knowledge safety advantages that VPNs provide. For instance, VPNs can provide enhanced knowledge safety when related to public WiFi and may add an additional stage of safety when accessing on-line banking.
“There are different, non-technical ways in which youngsters could possibly circumvent on-line security guidelines, for instance utilizing another person’s account, switching or sharing units with siblings and adults.
“Whereas it should be acknowledged that no method is a silver bullet – no regulatory rule will cease a sibling sharing a tool – this session is looking for views on how to make sure that current and new on-line security provisions for youngsters are as robust as they are often, with a view to decreasing circumvention charges. For this reason we’re asking about how youngsters use VPNs, in addition to how else age assurance could be circumvented, and what choices exist to determine and forestall it. We additionally ask in regards to the broader implications have been authorities to limit using VPNs for youngsters.”
The session is open till 11.59pm on Might 26, 2026 and you may make a submission to it right here.
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