TZUTC: -0500   
   MSGID: 2034.consprcy@1:2320/105 2dd77e6c   
   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 government targets VPNs in new online safety consultation as Lords vote    
   for ban   
      
   Date:   
   Thu, 22 Jan 2026 12:17:02 +0000   
      
   Description:   
   Technology Secretary Liz Kendall promises "evidence-led" approach to keeping   
   children safe online   
      
   FULL STORY   
      
   Liz Kendall, the UK Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and    
   Technology, has announced a three-month consultation to explore "further   
   measures" to improve online safety for children, including potential   
   restrictions on VPNs.    
      
   Ministers will consider action to address concerns that VPNs are being used    
   to "get around important protections. The consultation, which was announced    
   on Tuesday, will involve discussions with parents, safety organizations, tech   
   companies, and young people.    
      
   The process will also consider banning social media for under-16s, preventing   
   companies from harvesting children's data without consent, introducing   
   overnight curfews, and promoting solutions to curb "excessive doomscrolling".    
      
   The announcement was followed by a government defeat in the House of Lords on   
   Wednesday, where peers backed an amendment that would ban VPNs for children   
   under 18 and force providers to implement age checks. Peers also voted in   
   favor of banning social media for under-16s.    
      
   Labour peers had urged the chamber to wait for the consultation's outcome,    
   but others argued the time for deliberation was over. Crossbench peer    
   Baroness Kidron said: "Consultation is the playground of the tech lobbyist    
   and inaction is the most powerful tool in politics."   
      
   'Dither and delay'    
      
   Liz Kendall has defended the consultation period. She said: "Listening to   
   different views is the right and responsible approach."    
      
   Labour MP Andrew Cooper supported the decision and highlighted the "risk" of   
   children being driven into "less well-regulated spaces and into virtual   
   private networks" following government restrictions.    
      
   Meanwhile, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch dismissed the consultation as   
   "more dither and delay". Badenoch has already confirmed that her party would   
   introduce an immediate ban on social media for those under 16.    
      
   Kendall has committed to establishing a "clear position before the summer".    
      
   TechRadar has contacted the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology   
   for clarification on whether specific VPN providers will be included in the   
   consultation process.   
      
   Peers vote to ban VPNs for under18s    
      
   On Wednesday, the House of Lords voted in favor of banning the use of   
   under-18s. The chamber backed the amendment to the Childrens Wellbeing and   
   Schools Bill by 207 votes to 159, marking a significant government defeat.    
      
   The amendment was introduced by Conservative peer Lord Nash, with support    
   from co-signatories including Baroness Benjamin and Baroness Cass.    
      
   Nash argued that the government's consultation was "unnecessary, misconceived   
   and clearly a last-minute attempt to kick the can down the road".    
      
   Prior to the vote, Labour's Lord Knight of Weymouth acknowledged that VPNs   
   could "undermine the child safety gains of the Online Safety Act" but warned   
   that age-gating the apps could be "extremely problematic". He said:    
   "My phone uses a VPN, following a personal device cyber consultation offered   
   by this Parliament. VPNs can make us more secure, and we should not rush to   
   deprive children of that safety."    
      
   The amendment will now pass to the House of Commons, where the government   
   which holds a large majority  is expected to try and overturn it.    
      
   TechRadar has reached out to a number of peers involved in the vote.   
      
   ======================================================================   
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/uk-government-targets-vpns-   
   in-new-online-safety-consultation-as-lords-vote-for-ban   
      
   $$   
   --- 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