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Children’s Commissioner Hits Out at VPNs Over Age Check Rules
VPNs have seen a surge since the Online Safety Act’s age check rules came into effect.Â
The children’s commissioner for England has urged the government to take action to prevent children from circumventing the Online Safety Act’s age checks by using a VPN.
VPN searches and downloads surged after age verification requirements came into effect under the Online Safety Act, require websites showing adult content to verify the age of users. VPNs allow internet users to shield their IP address and view a site as if they were in a different country and therefore, under different internet regulations.
In a new report, Dame Rachel de Souza has urged that ministers take action to prevent children from using VPNs to avoid the age checks, saying that VPN providers themselves should issue affective age assurance methods to prevent under-18s from accessing prohibited websites.
She warned that if the government does not take action in this key issue, the Online Safety Act’s age verification requirements would be “inadequate.”
The children’s commissioner’s survey of 16 to 21 year olds is a sober reality check for legislators trying to regulate the internet. More young people said they had seen pornography before they were 18 years old than in 2023, with more than one in four saying they had seen pornography before they were 11, and about seven in ten seeing porn prior to turning 18.
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Since the UK age verification requirements came into effect, sites showing pornography have taken a hit, with Pornhub’s daily traffic falling 47% in around the first week of the new regime.
However, VPN use could be altering these view figures, giving adults and children an easily accessible loophole to the rules.
The Commissioner is therefore urging lawmakers to investigate technical options to make sure VPNs and other tools are not being used to circumvent the rules. She suggested this could mean that VPNs be required to put “highly effective age assurance” tools in place to screen for underage users and further prevent them from accessing these tools.
