VPN ban for all under-18s has support from majority of Brits, research finds in wake of Online Safety Act

It's a response to growing fears that youngsters are using VPNs to dodge the robust age verification checks put in place by the Online Safety Act since late July. Elsewhere, researchers found that a large majority of people in the UK (69%) say they still support the new rules, including 46% who do so “strongly”.

Peter Kyle – Secretary of State for Science, Innovation, and Technology – has previously insisted there are no plans to outright ban VPNs. However, he admitted that Downing Street was looking "very closely" at how VPNs are being used.

In an interview with the BBC, Peter Kyle said: "For everybody who’s out there thinking of using VPNs, let me just say to you directly — verifying your age keeps a child safe, keeps children safe in our country. So, let’s just not try and find a way around. I just want to urge caution in how people are using them."

Following the introduction of the Online Safety Act, websites, streaming services, and mobile apps that host adult content must use strict age verification checks to ensure visitors are over 18 years old. Only certain approved methods are enough to pass the age checks, including facial recognition scans, credit card numbers, and passport details.

Since VPNs let you manually spoof your IP address, making it appear as if you're accessing the internet from outside of the UK — and outside the jurisdiction of the Online Safety Act — it's possible to bypass the age verification checks. This is because platforms have only set these live in the UK, with those accessing adult websites in France and the United States unaffected by the latest shake-up, for example.

Since VPNs let you switch your location, the geographic restrictions imposed by UK law become ineffective.

It's currently legal to download and install a Virtual Private Network (VPN) in the UK, with many brands reporting massive spikes in downloads in recent weeks. Free VPNs, despite not being recommended by security experts, have also enjoyed a healthy increase in downloads.

One provider, Proton VPN, revealed that it had seen an incredible spike in UK users signing up — an almost 2,000% surge in just the first few hours after the new requirements went live.

At the time of writing, 5 of the 10 most downloaded free apps on the Apple App Store are VPNs.

The YouGov poll comes as parents and officials in the UK have grown increasingly concerned about children finding ways to access inappropriate content online. The findings reflect mounting frustration that legislative attempts to protect minors from harmful online material can still be circumvented.

The reality is that banning VPNs would be incredibly difficult to enforce.

Cybersecurity expert Graeme Stewart from Check Point compares it to "banning people from smoking in their own homes – you might not like it, but good luck enforcing it."

Only countries like North Korea, China, Russia, Iraq and the UAE currently prohibit VPN use – not exactly the company Britain typically keeps. Despite growing public support for restrictions, the practical challenges make an actual ban highly unlikely.

What is a VPN?

VPN stands for Virtual Private Network.

Essentially, it's an application that encrypts and anonymises everything you do online — bolstering your privacy, hiding your location, and stopping advertisers, trackers, and even governments keeping tabs on you.

VPNs are widely used by businesses to keep proprietary data safe from prying eyes. Whistle-blowers and journalists also rely on these apps to shield sensitive information. And now, VPNs are fast becoming an essential tool for everyone with a smartphone, laptop, desktop PC, streaming set-top box, or tablet.