Could online age checks reshape the internet? Privacy groups warn the UK is risking digital freedoms
The openness of the internet and the opportunities it provides are at peril in the United Kingdom. Policy interventions, such as bans on access to social media platforms or VPN services, hardly improve the online experience of young people but instead undermine the open internet and infringe on human rights.
That’s what a coalition of technology companies, civil society organizations, and digital rights groups states in an open letter.
In a joint statement, the signatories argue that so-called “age-gated jurisdictions” undermine free expression and access to information.
Although the measures are intended to protect children from harmful content, such as adult videos and pages about self-mutilation, critics say they could instead reshape how the internet functions for everyone.
“This approach focuses on restricting young people’s access, rather than ensuring services are designed to uphold their rights and interests by default. Crucially, even targeted age restrictions of specific features could mean that all users are required to complete intrusive age assurance processes to retain full access,” the coalition writes.
The petition's participants argue that existing age verification systems are either inaccurate, undermine data and privacy security, or aren’t widely available worldwide.
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“Beyond concerns related to age assurance technologies themselves, mandating their implementation across an ever-expanding list of core internet services undermines the decentralized nature of the web, its accessibility, and creates serious new security threats,” the joint statement reads.
On top of that, age verification technologies pose significant data risks for all users and may reinforce the dominance of app stores, operating systems, and platforms’ walled gardens.
“Addressing these harmful practices and holding tech companies accountable for providing safe online spaces that strengthen, not undermine users’ choices and agency, must be the priority of UK policymakers. Now is the time to hold tech to account, not undermine the open internet,” the open letter says.
The signatories, which include organizations like Big Brother Watch, ExpressVPN, Mozilla, Proton, and Tuta, call for a more balanced approach that focuses on platform accountability and improved content moderation practices.
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