Overview
- Peers voted 207–159 to add Amendment 92 to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, targeting the provision of VPN services to under-18s.
- The amendment would require the Secretary of State to introduce regulations within 12 months and allow Ofcom to issue compliance guidance, with any rules needing approval by both Houses.
- The government says it is consulting on the issue and has stated there are no current plans to ban VPNs, placing the amendment’s future in doubt when it reaches the Commons.
- Ofcom has reported that UK daily active VPN users doubled to around 1.5 million after the Online Safety Act deadline before settling at about 1 million.
- Critics warn restrictions could harm legitimate privacy and security uses and be hard to enforce, as similar age-verification and VPN debates continue in the United States and Australia.