Full Breakdown
Coalition Urges UK Ministers Not to Age-Gate VPN Services
7/15/2026, 12:37:58 AM
Coalition Urges No Age-Gating of VPNs
A coalition of more than 20 privacy-focused organisations—including the Open Rights Group, Electronic Frontier Foundation, ExpressVPN, Internet Society, Mozilla, Mullvad, Proton and the Tor Project—has sent an open letter to UK ministers urging them to rule out any age-verification or other restrictions on virtual private networks (VPNs). The signatories argue that VPNs are essential infrastructure for journalists, businesses, abuse survivors and ordinary users on public Wi-Fi, and that imposing age checks would erode the privacy those tools are meant to provide.
Policy Context and Government Research
The letter arrives as the government prepares legislation to ban social-media use for under-16s. Ministers have cited concerns that children might use VPNs to bypass such bans. However, internal research indicates that only a small minority of teenagers rely on VPNs for this purpose. The government’s own data show roughly one-quarter of 11- to 17-year-olds have used a VPN, but merely 7-10 % do so to evade age checks, with most simply providing false ages.
Usage Data and Child Behaviour
Ofcom’s research, referenced in the coalition’s letter, found that about 3 % of children have employed VPNs to access content intended for older audiences. Comparative evidence from Australia suggests children are more likely to circumvent age checks by lying about their age or avoiding the check altogether, rather than by using VPNs.
Official Positions
The coalition’s open letter calls for ministers to focus on “root causes of online harms” instead of demanding identity verification for privacy tools. It recommends stronger enforcement of platform obligations, enhanced parental-control options, investment in digital-literacy programmes and privacy-by-design requirements as more effective safeguards for children.
Verbatim Quotes
- “Restricting VPNs would undercut the security and privacy of millions, without making children safer,” — Open Rights Group open letter
- “Age-gating VPNs would require everyone to surrender sensitive personal information simply to access tools designed to protect privacy.” — Open Rights Group open letter
- “Ofcom's research found that only around 3 percent of children had used VPNs to access content meant for older audiences,” — Open Rights Group open letter
- “ REG AD The signatories instead want ministers to tackle what they describe as the "root causes of online harms," rather than making people prove who they are before they can use privacy tools.” — Open Rights Group open letter
