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   Age verification lands in Italy   
      
   Date:   
   Tue, 11 Nov 2025 17:23:28 +0000   
      
   Description:   
   Italy is set to enforce mandatory age checks starting November 12 on AGCOM's   
   listed websites displaying adult-only content.   
      
   FULL STORY   
      
   In less than 24 hours, Italians will be forced to prove they are at least 18   
   years old every time they want to access websites hosting adult content.    
      
   Italy joins France, the UK, and several US states in enforcing mandatory age   
   verification in a bid to shield minors from harmful content online.    
      
   The country's communications authority, AGCOM, says its system has been built   
   on a "double anonymity" model to protect people's privacy. Yet, age checks   
   have sparked concerns among privacy-conscious users worldwide and often   
   provoked a spike in demand for VPN apps.   
      
    VPNs and other circumvention tools have become a quick way to bypass new   
   rules, which has fulled debates about whether governments should block VPNs   
   altogether.    
      
   In the UK, the communications regulator, Ofcom, has confirmed to TechRadar   
   that it's actively monitoring VPN use with an unnamed third-party tool. While   
   two US States  Wisconsin and Michigan  are considering introducing an   
   obligation to block VPN traffic.    
      
   There are currently no restrictions on using a VPN to bypass Italy's age   
   verification law and it seems like some have already started researching the   
   most secure VPNs in preparation for the age checks.    
      
   However, there is an obligation on the websites to verify users' age and they   
   are also forbidden from promoting VPNs as a way of bypassing the age checks.   
      
   How Italy's age verification rules affect VPN usage    
      
   As per AGCOM's provisions , the only obligation regarding VPNs applies to all   
   "entities required by law to implement the age verification system." Put   
   simply, the websites displaying adult-only content.    
      
   The list of websites, which AGCOM is expected to keep adding to, "must not   
   promote or otherwise refer to any mechanism for circumventing age assurance   
   systems."    
      
   All this means that Italians won't be prevented from accessing adult websites   
   when using a VPN  at least for now.    
      
   If you're looking to get a new VPN app, we strongly suggest staying away from   
   dangerous free VPNs and only downloading apps that have been thoroughly   
   reviewed and tested.    
      
   ======================================================================   
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/age-verification-lands-in-i   
   taly-heres-how-it-affects-vpn-users   
      
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