The UK government will consider age-restricting or limiting children’s use of virtual private networks (VPNs) as part of its efforts to strengthen safety online, but critics warn it could put the country in the same league as North Korea.
Restrictions could be placed on children’s use of VPNs "where it undermines safety protections," according to the government, which is seeking to close loopholes it says put minors at risk online.
The measures, aimed at tackling “vile illegal content” created by artificial intelligence (AI), include proposals such as setting a minimum age limit for social media and restricting features like infinite scrolling.
The government is also considering limiting children’s access to AI chatbots, changing the age of digital consent, and strengthening protections for families by ensuring relevant data following a child’s death is preserved.
The government says the new powers will allow it to act faster to protect children amid rapid technology changes.
It will lay out the new measures in the amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill following consultations with parents and children set to launch next month. The changes will be subject to parliamentary approval.
The government says it will move fast to shut legal “loopholes” and force all AI chatbot providers to abide by illegal content duties in the Online Safety Act or face the consequences of breaking the law.
The new measures follow controversy over a new feature in Elon Musk’s Grok chatbot that allows users to undress people without their consent, which UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer described as "disgraceful" and "disgusting."
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The government is targeting VPN use because it’s frequently used to bypass territorial restrictions, with downloads in the UK soaring last year after stricter online safety rules were enforced.
The prime minister said the new measures will allow to 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,” Starmer said.
“Dangerous” proposal
Privacy advocates decried the “draconian” proposal to age-restrict VPNs, saying that it’s effectively a ban. Silkie Carlo, director at Big Brother Watch, said the measure was “absolutely clueless, dangerous, and undemocratic.”
“Agree or disagree, it’s a clamp down on internet freedom and the right to freedom of expression,” Carlo said in a series of posts on X. She warned restrictions on VPNs would put the UK in the same league of countries like China, Russia, and North Korea.
However, children rights groups welcomed the proposals. Chris Sherwood, CEO of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), a child protection charity, said that “much of what is being proposed mirrors what we have been pressing for.”
“Delivered swiftly, these measures would offer far better protection than a blanket ban,” Sherwood said, adding that urgent action is needed “if the government is going to take on tech bosses and make a difference for children and young people.”
Andy Burrows, chief executive of Molly Rose Foundation, a suicide prevention charity, said the announcement should reassure parents but that the government must now go further.
“Sir Keir Starmer should commit to a new Online Safety Act that strengthens regulation and that makes clear that product safety and children’s wellbeing is the cost of doing business in the UK,” Burrows said.
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