‘Many people want to use VPNs for privacy—that is important—but we know that some children use them to get around restrictions’: UK government considering VPN ban
Publish Date: 2026-06-18 10:53:00
Source Domain: www.pcgamer.com
In the UK, the Online Safety Act now requires that websites verify the age of its users through checks often carried out by third-party vendors. Personally, I’m trying to avoid handing over either scans of my government ID or face as long as possible and, so far that’s resulted in me being locked out of my Bluesky DM’s. Though not ideal, it’s easily remedied by hopping onto a VPN—though future restrictions could mean I’ll have to rethink that strategy.
The UK government is considering an Australia-style ban on social media for under-16s, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer saying that the ban could take effect as soon as spring next year. As for the much nearer future, Science and Technology Secretary Liz Kendall told BBC Breakfast earlier this week, “We will make further statements in July about VPNs and further restrictions.”
To be clear, no specific restrictions have yet been announced and Kendall sounded somewhat cautious about an outright ban during a parliament debate that took place the same day. “I have commissioned further research about their usage. There are really important issues to balance here,” she says. “Many people want to use VPNs for privacy—that is important—but we know that some children use them to get around restrictions. I will come back to that in July in our response to the consultation.”
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So, we’ll have to wait until next month for anything definite, but it’s hard not to feel like a full ban on VPNs is already on the table. If that does come to pass, more than the contents of my Bluesky inbox will be at stake.
Utah in the US has already tried to implement a full VPN ban (though this was postponed until September after Aylo, the parent company of Pornhub, challenged the law in court). The Electronic Frontier Foundation criticised the Utah’s proposed ban back in May, saying, “The legal risk could push the site to either ban all known VPN IPs, or to mandate age verification for every visitor globally. This would subject…
![Federal social media bill threatens to undermine privacy rights, alienate youth: critics [audio] – NB Media Co-op](https://nbmediacoop.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/SocialMediaBanJun122026.jpg "Federal social media bill threatens to undermine privacy rights, alienate youth: critics [audio] – NB Media Co-op")
