TZUTC: -0500   
   MSGID: 1829.consprcy@1:2320/105 2da168db   
   PID: Synchronet 3.21a-Linux master/123f2d28a Jul 12 2025 GCC 12.2.0   
   TID: SBBSecho 3.28-Linux master/123f2d28a Jul 12 2025 GCC 12.2.0   
   BBSID: CAPCITY2   
   CHRS: ASCII 1   
   FORMAT: flowed   
   UK Lords propose ban on VPNs for children   
      
   Date:   
   Fri, 12 Dec 2025 11:46:30 +0000   
      
   Description:   
   UK politicians table amendment that would ban VPNs for children but its    
   future is uncertain.   
      
   FULL STORY   
      
   A cross-party group of House of Lords Peers has tabled an amendment that    
   would ban children in the UK from using VPNs. If passed, the government would   
   have to enforce the restrictions within 12 months.    
      
   Under the new rules, VPN providers would be forced to verify the age of all    
   UK users, employing "highly effective" age-assurance methods to make sure no   
   one using the service is under 18.    
      
   The government would also be tasked with establishing a monitoring regime,   
   including "effective enforcement" measures that would penalize non-compliant   
   companies.    
      
   The requirements would apply to any VPN service that markets itself to UK   
   consumers or is used by a "significant number" of people in the country.    
      
   In their explanatory note, the peers wrote: "This new clause would require    
   the Secretary of State to take action to promote and protect childrens   
   wellbeing, and to further support child protective measures in the Online   
   Safety Act , by prohibiting the provision to children in the United Kingdom    
   of VPN services which can facilitate evasion of OSA age-gating processes."    
      
   This proposal is being considered at the Report Stage of the Children's   
   Wellbeing and Schools Bill in the House of Lords. To become law, the    
   amendment must still be voted through both the Lords and the House of    
   Commons.   
      
   What's next?    
      
   This proposal is likely to cause significant concern among the privacy and   
   cybersecurity community in the UK. "Highly effective" age verification   
   typically requires people to submit government-issued ID or facial scans, a   
   requirement that dramatically undermines the privacy that VPNs are designed    
   to provide.    
      
   The amendment has been designed with the Online Safety Act specifically in   
   mind and addresses fears that people have turned to the best VPNs and free   
   VPNs to sidestep age verification measures .    
      
   While the amendment has cross-bench support in the House of Lords, it still   
   faces an uncertain future.    
      
   In another proposed amendment, Peers have suggested that: "Any relevant    
   device supplied for use in the UK must have installed tamper-proof system   
   software which is highly effective at preventing the recording, transmitting   
   and viewing of CSAM using that device."    
      
   The proposal has been called "Orwellian in scope" by James Baker, who works   
   for Open Rights Group.  "Rather than imposing blanket bans or invasive   
   monitoring, there are smarter, more liberal ways to tackle online harms," he   
   wrote.    
      
   ======================================================================   
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/uk-lords-propose-ban-on-vpn   
   s-for-children   
      
   $$   
   --- SBBSecho 3.28-Linux   
    * Origin: Capitol City Online (1:2320/105)   
   SEEN-BY: 105/81 106/201 128/187 129/14 305 153/7715 154/110 218/700   
   SEEN-BY: 226/30 227/114 229/110 134 206 300 307 317 400 426 428 470   
   SEEN-BY: 229/664 700 705 266/512 291/111 320/219 322/757 342/200 396/45   
   SEEN-BY: 460/58 633/280 712/848 902/26 2320/0 105 304 3634/12 5075/35   
   PATH: 2320/105 229/426