A proposed new law banning children in the UK from using social media and virtual private networks (VPNs) would frustrate adults and erode their privacy, as they will have to verify their age to use a host of everyday sites and services, warn legal experts.
The UK’s Online Safety Act (OSA) came into force in July 2025, forcing websites to block children from seeing pornography and content that the government deems dangerous. The legislation was intended to make the internet safer, but tech-savvy children can easily sidestep the measures.
Legislation working its way through the UK parliament would ban children from using social media and virtual private networks – but the proposals would endanger online privacy and may not make children safer, say legal experts