Stephen - TPJerematic

Is the UK on the verge of banning VPNs?   On May 26, the consultation intended to help the British government make decisions on age verification for websites, digital services, and social media platforms came to an end. Some form of restrictions regarding at least age limits for social media already appear inevitable; government officials have confirmed as much. The only question is what kind of restrictions will be imposed.   For example, the age verification restrictions could end up including VPN services. National restrictions for websites and social media can be bypassed using tools such as VPNs, virtual phone numbers, eSIM cards, Tor and dedicated services. It is therefore unsurprising that politicians have begun looking toward VPN services, which are the most common and accessible method of changing one’s geographic location.   In early 2026, the House of Lords sent an amendment(regarding the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill) to the House of Commons, proposing an 18-year age limit for using VPN services. The House of Commons rejected the House of Lords amendment four separate times. However, the House of Commons instead introduced its own proposal, which was passed and has now become law. This agreement grants the government the power to introduce restrictions through secondary legislation, with only limited parliamentary scrutiny.   Unfortunately, the risk that the UK government will crack down on VPN services is real – effectively joining countries such as China and Russia in opposing VPN services. Officials have already hinted that they may consider introducing age restrictions for VPN usage under the slogan “No platform gets a free pass”.   If VPN services were to implement identity verification, this would mean collecting data that could be abused through either malice or incompetence. It would, for example, make such services risky for whistleblowers and activists, make it harder for journalists to work with sensitive information, and create a chilling effect on online debate (VPNs can help people post anonymously on social media). In a society like the UK, where 30 people are arrested every day for writing something online that authorities classify as “grossly offensive”, VPN services are an important tool for free speech.   If VPN providers were to impose an age limit on their service, this would also mean that underage users would effectively lose their right to online privacy. Ironically, one consequence would be that social media companies mapping people’s lives through third-party trackers on websites could continue monitoring young people’s online behavior via their IP addresses without any interference. In other words, politicians would remove one of the protections children have against the very companies they claim to want to protect children from.

I haven't been posting much lately. Look at this cool bear I found.