VPNs could be banned for under-18s as the UK looks to ‘close loopholes’ (Image: Getty)
Plans for a new VPN ban in the UK have been announced by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. The Online Safety Act’s new age gate laws, introduced by the Conservatives, came into effect last year.
Following the act going live, many websites and apps were forced to introduce mandatory age checks with ID or facial scanning in order to prevent access by under-18s. This affected not only adult content sites, but also dating sites and even Xbox accounts as well as various hobbyist forums and Reddit communities. Since then, VPN use in the UK has exploded, and now the Labour government has announced it may crack down on this work-around for under-18s.
READ MORE: 41,000 Nationwide members given up to £200 free cash
READ MORE: UK households urged to stockpile AA and AAA batteries now
VPNs, or Virtual Private Networks, are completely legal but allow users to mask their real location online. Many are used in workplaces to create shared networks for firms, but increasingly people are using them to access age-gated content to get around the Online Safety Act.
Children could be prevented from using virtual private networks (VPNs) and limited from speaking with online chatbots under proposals being floated by the Prime Minister to bolster online safety.
The Government also plans to consult on banning children from social media, and restricting ‘infinite scrolling’, a practice also being looked at by the EU.
This follows the war of words between ministers and Elon Musk earlier this year, after his Grok AI chatbot – embedded into the social media site X – was used widely to make fake nude images of women.
Ahead of launching the consultation, the Prime Minister said: “As a dad of two teenagers, I know the challenges and the worries that parents face making sure their kids are safe online.
“Technology is moving really fast, and the law has got to keep up. With my Government, Britain will be a leader, not a follower, when it comes to online safety.
“The action we took on Grok sent a clear message that no platform gets a free pass.
“Today we are closing loopholes that put children at risk, and laying the groundwork for further action.
“We are acting to protect children’s wellbeing and help parents to navigate the minefield of social media.”
*** Ensure our latest news headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as Preferred Source in your Google search settings. ***
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said: “I know that parents across the country want us to act urgently to keep their children safe online. That’s why I stood up to Grok and Elon Musk when they flouted British laws and British values.
“We will not wait to take the action families need, so we will tighten the rules on AI chatbots and we are laying the ground so we can act at pace on the results of the consultation on young people and social media.
“We are determined to give children the childhood they deserve and to prepare them for the future at time of rapid technological change.”
Shadow education secretary Laura Trott said the announcement was “more smoke and mirrors from a Government that has chosen inaction when it comes to stopping under-16s accessing social media”.
She said: “Labour have repeatedly said they do not have a view on whether under-16s should be prevented from accessing social media. That is not good enough. I am clear that we should stop under-16s accessing these platforms.
“The evidence of harm is clear and parents, teachers and children themselves have made their voices heard. Britain is lagging behind while other countries have recognised the risks and begun to act.”