UK weighs 'age-gating' VPNs as part of under-16 social media ban

The UK government is preparing new rules around VPN use tied to its planned ban on social media for under-16s, with a formal statement promised in July. Children’s minister Josh MacAlister has floated the idea of “age-gating” VPN access, but ministers stress they have no plans for an outright ban and that the policy is still unsettled. Technology secretary Liz Kendall says she commissioned additional research because she was unhappy with the existing evidence base, and she has acknowledged sharply divided opinion — privacy advocates on one side, child-safety campaigners on the other who note that minors use VPNs to bypass restrictions.

The interest in VPNs follows reports that teenagers began searching for circumvention methods within hours of the ban being confirmed, rather than disengaging from social media. Regulator Ofcom has warned the government that significant questions remain about the effectiveness and accessibility of age-verification methods, the availability of reliable age and identity attributes at 16, and the privacy trade-offs of both current and emerging approaches. Baroness Liz Lloyd separately noted there is limited evidence on how children actually use VPNs.

The VPN question sits inside a broader consultation on online risks to children, which also covers restricting access to AI chatbots and revisiting the age of digital consent. Kendall has signaled that enforcement is a parallel concern, arguing Ofcom needs stronger powers to escalate when companies ignore fines for breaching online safety rules.