VPN restrictions and age verification could harm the open web, Mozilla warns
Mozilla has expressed concerns about the UK government’s plans to introduce mandatory age verification for VPN providers.
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Mozilla warns UK's planned mandatory age verification for VPNs will harm young people by blocking the privacy tools they need most against tracking and targeted ads.
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VPNs are critical for vulnerable groups like activists, journalists, and dissidents – and for protecting young people's online privacy and security
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Mozilla argues regulators should hold platforms accountable instead of restricting access to privacy tools, calling for "building resilience across society."
The Firefox developer fears that interventions like mandatory age assurance and restricted access to tools like VPNs aren’t effective in protecting young people online.
Virtual private networks, or VPNs, are critical tools for protecting someone’s online privacy and security because they hide users’ IP addresses and location data and reduce tracking. VPNs are also used to circumvent geolocational restrictions and avoid censorship imposed by authoritarian regimes.
In short, VPNs are important for both vulnerable groups, such as human rights activists, dissidents, or journalists, and everyone who’s trying to protect their online identity and security. That goes especially for young people, Mozilla argues.
“Young people are particularly vulnerable to online tracking, targeted advertising, and the risks that flow from personal data being collected and processed for commercial purposes without adequate consent or transparency. In a world in which young people are interacting with digital technologies as part of their realities from young ages onward, restricting young people’s access to privacy-protecting technologies is in tension with the goal of equipping them to navigate the internet safely and competently,” Mozilla explains.
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But rather than age-gating technologies like VPNs, the tech company believes that regulators should address the root causes of online harm by holding online platforms accountable, encouraging the responsible use of parental controls, and investing in digital skills and a whole-society approach to digital wellbeing.
“Building resilience across society rather than attempting to restrict access to particular technologies is the approach most likely to achieve lasting improvements in children's wellbeing online,” Mozilla concludes.
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Last year, the United Kingdom mandated online age verification for numerous websites. Following this implementation, an increase in VPN usage was observed.
In March 2026, the government voted against a proposed ban on social media use for under-16s.
However, it did give Secretary of State for Science, Innovation, and Technology Liz Kendall the option to limit access to specific features on social media that are harmful or addictive, restrict or limit children’s VPN use, and change the age of digital consent in the UK.
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