UK to Target VPNs in July for Under-16 Age Checks as 70% of Australian Kids Still Use Social Media
Updated
Updated · fire.org · Jun 25
UK to Target VPNs in July for Under-16 Age Checks as 70% of Australian Kids Still Use Social Media
3 articles · Updated · fire.org · Jun 25
Summary
July will bring further UK government statements on VPNs, with Technology Secretary Liz Kendall signaling they could be targeted to stop children bypassing planned under-16 social-media age checks.
UK ministers say they want an "Australia-plus" regime after Australia’s 2025 ban proved porous; government-backed research found about 7 in 10 Australian children still used social media months after it took effect.
VPN restrictions would tighten enforcement of a policy whose verification methods are still not public, while Children’s Minister Josh MacAlister has floated age-gating VPN use itself.
Australia’s experience also highlights privacy risks: age checks can require biometric data or government IDs, and a breach tied to Discord’s age-assurance complaints exposed data from nearly 70,000 Australians.
The UK move fits a broader international shift toward mandatory online age verification, raising concerns that child-safety rules could erode anonymity and expand state-backed data collection.
If age verification laws are failing and creating data risks, why are more countries adopting even stricter versions?
As our digital lives demand ID, can privacy-focused tech outpace the global push for online surveillance?
Can the UK’s Social Media Ban for Under-16s Succeed? Enforcement, Privacy, and Lessons from Australia
Overview
The UK government is moving forward with a broad social media ban for those under 16, inspired by Australia’s sweeping restrictions that led to millions of account removals. The main goal is to protect children from online harms, with further measures like curfews for older teens also being considered. However, enforcing the ban faces big challenges, such as verifying users’ ages and stopping circumvention through VPNs. The UK is learning from Australia’s experience, where bans were hard to enforce and often pushed young people to riskier online spaces. Details on enforcement and privacy safeguards are expected in July 2026.