The UK drops its VPN restrictions plan

This article was published on July 16, 2026 The UK has decided not to restrict VPNs to enforce its new teen social-media rules, after its own research found children use them for privacy, not to dodge age checks. Official portrait of Liz Kendall by UK Parliament. Licensed under CC BY 3.0. The UK looked set to crack down on VPNs as it tightens the rules for children online. Instead it has backed off, and its own research is the reason why. Online Safety Minister Kanishka Narayan put it plainly on the BBC. “We decided not to limit VPNs,” he said. A VPN hides a user’s real location, which is one way to slip past an age check. The decision landed alongside the UK’s new midnight social-media curfew for 16 and 17-year-olds. Technology Secretary Liz Kendall confirmed it in a written statement, saying VPNs have “legitimate privacy and security uses.” The government had commissioned a study of more than 2,000 children, and the numbers undercut the case for a ban. About a quarter of 11 to 17-year-olds have used a VPN. Most do so for privacy, not to break the rules, the report found. Only around 7% of children use a VPN to reach age-restricted content. Far more simply lie. Nearly half who dod