- UK government to hold three-month consultation to improve children’s safety online
- Consultation will include discussions on the use of VPNs
- House of Lords vote in favor of banning VPNs for under-18s
Liz Kendall, Britain’s Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, has announced a three-month consultation to explore “further measures” to improve children’s online safety, including possible restrictions on VPNs.
Ministers will consider measures to address concerns that VPNs are being used to “circumvent important protections”. The consultation, announced on Tuesday, will involve discussions with parents, safety organisations, technology companies and young people.
The process will also consider banning social media for under-16s, preventing companies from collecting data on children without their consent, introducing nighttime curfews and promoting solutions to combat “excessive doomscrolling.”
The announcement was followed by a government defeat in the House of Lords on Wednesday, where its peers backed an amendment that would ban VPNs for children under 18 and force providers to implement age checks. Peers also voted in favor of banning social media for under-16s.
Labor peers urged the chamber to wait for the results of the consultation, but others argued the time for deliberations was over. Crossbench peer Baroness Kidron said: “Consultation is the tech lobbyist’s playground and inaction is the most powerful tool in politics. »
“Dithering and delay”
Liz Kendall defended the consultation period. She said: “Listening to different points of view is a fair and responsible approach. »
Labor MP Andrew Cooper supported the decision and highlighted the “risk” of children being taken into “less well-regulated spaces and virtual private networks” following government restrictions.
Meanwhile, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch dismissed the consultation, calling it “more prevarication and delay”. Badenoch has already confirmed that his party will immediately ban access to social media for under-16s.
Kendall pledged to establish a “clear position before the summer”.
TechRadar has contacted the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Technology to inquire whether specific VPN providers will be included in the consultation process.
Peers vote to ban VPNs for under-18s
On Wednesday, the House of Lords voted in favor of banning the use of under-18s. The house supported the amendment to the Child Welfare and Schools Bill by 207 votes to 159, marking a significant defeat for the government.
The amendment was introduced by Conservative peer Lord Nash, with the support of co-signatories including Baroness Benjamin and Baroness Cass.
Nash argued the government’s consultation was “unnecessary, ill-conceived and clearly a last-minute attempt to pass the buck”.
Ahead of the vote, Labour’s Lord Knight of Weymouth acknowledged that VPNs could “undermine the achievements of the Online Safety Act on child safety”, but warned that age-restricting apps could be “extremely problematic”. He said:
“My phone uses a VPN, following a cyber consultation on personal devices proposed by this Parliament. VPNs can make us safer, and we should not rush to deprive children of this security.”
The amendment will now go to the House of Commons, where the government – which has a large majority – is expected to attempt to overturn it.
TechRadar contacted a number of peers involved in the vote.
