The UK’s planned social media ban for under-16s could put VPNs back at the centre of debate over online safety, privacy and the effectiveness of age checks. The discussion comes three years after the Online Safety Act (OSA) was enacted, with VPN providers describing its approach as heavy-handed and only partly successful.
The Act has brought some changes: platforms have obligations to detect and remove child sexual abuse material, certain harms have been criminalised, and penalties for non-compliance have been introduced. However, enforcement remains uneven, particularly for smaller sites. Age checks on mainstream services may also lead children to seek out smaller, less regulated alternatives.
Dr Peter Membrey, chief research officer at ExpressVPN, said the legislation had put children’s online safety on the agenda. But he pointed to an Ofcom report that found no significant overall change in the proportion of children encountering harmful content. The Molly Rose Foundation has also warned that timid regulation could have serious consequences.
VPNs drew attention when age verification requirements took effect in 2025, amid concerns that people could use them to circumvent restrictions. Yet a report by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology found that 7% of children used VPNs to access restricted material. Privacy was the main reason children gave for using them, while VPN providers argue that age checks can raise privacy risks by requiring sensitive data to be shared with third parties.
Ofcom announced steps towards an under-16 social media ban last week, with age checks expected in early 2027. EE research cited in the report suggests 42% of 11- to 15-year-olds will try to get around the ban. VPNs may not bypass account-level identity checks, but providers warn that restrictions on VPNs could harm legitimate users and push some towards risky free services.
ExpressVPN and Proton say VPNs can work alongside online safety laws rather than be restricted. With the effectiveness of age checks and the consequences for privacy still under debate, the planned ban could renew scrutiny of VPNs and how young people access online services.
Sources: TechRadar.