UK Lords propose ban on VPNs for children

Date:
Fri, 12 Dec 2025 11:46:30 +0000

Description:
UK politicians table amendment that would ban VPNs for children but its
future is uncertain.

FULL STORY

A cross-party group of House of Lords Peers has tabled an amendment that
would ban children in the UK from using VPNs. If passed, the government would have to enforce the restrictions within 12 months.

Under the new rules, VPN providers would be forced to verify the age of all
UK users, employing "highly effective" age-assurance methods to make sure no one using the service is under 18.

The government would also be tasked with establishing a monitoring regime, including "effective enforcement" measures that would penalize non-compliant companies.

The requirements would apply to any VPN service that markets itself to UK consumers or is used by a "significant number" of people in the country.

In their explanatory note, the peers wrote: "This new clause would require
the Secretary of State to take action to promote and protect childrens wellbeing, and to further support child protective measures in the Online Safety Act , by prohibiting the provision to children in the United Kingdom
of VPN services which can facilitate evasion of OSA age-gating processes."

This proposal is being considered at the Report Stage of the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill in the House of Lords. To become law, the
amendment must still be voted through both the Lords and the House of
Commons.

What's next?

This proposal is likely to cause significant concern among the privacy and cybersecurity community in the UK. "Highly effective" age verification typically requires people to submit government-issued ID or facial scans, a requirement that dramatically undermines the privacy that VPNs are designed
to provide.

The amendment has been designed with the Online Safety Act specifically in
mind and addresses fears that people have turned to the best VPNs and free
VPNs to sidestep age verification measures .

While the amendment has cross-bench support in the House of Lords, it still faces an uncertain future.

In another proposed amendment, Peers have suggested that: "Any relevant
device supplied for use in the UK must have installed tamper-proof system software which is highly effective at preventing the recording, transmitting and viewing of CSAM using that device."

The proposal has been called "Orwellian in scope" by James Baker, who works
for Open Rights Group. "Rather than imposing blanket bans or invasive monitoring, there are smarter, more liberal ways to tackle online harms," he wrote.

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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/uk-lords-propose-ban-on-vpn s-for-children

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