- Technology data protection advocates are urging the UK not to undermine the open web“
- This comes as the bill on children’s well-being and schools became law
- A national consultation on online harm is also underway
A coalition of digital rights groups and privacy-minded technology developers is urging the UK government “not to undermine the open web.”
Nineteen organizations, including some of the top VPN services – Proton, Mullvad, ExpressVPN and IPVanish – Mozilla, the Tor Project and privacy advocates such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation published an open letter on Tuesday (May 5) to directly address politicians.
The coalition warns that while trying to tackle pressing issues of child safety and online harm, UK policymakers are pursuing “blunt policy interventions”, including banning access to some online services.
These measures, according to the signatories, “will do little to improve young people’s experiences online and instead undermine the web and violate human rights.”
The hit comes as the controversial Child Wellbeing and Schools Act became law last week. The law introduces fresh new online restrictions for young people, alongside an obligation for service providers to take “reasonable anti-circumvention measures.”
The government also launched a national consultation on online harm – open until 26 May 2026 – arguing that VPNs could be age-restricted if the consultation found these tools guilty of undermining online security protections.
The Child Wellbeing Act and schools: why experts are worried
Under the Child Wellbeing and Schools Act, the Secretary of State will now have the power to introduce rules forcing internet service providers to prevent or restrict children’s access to specific services or features. These restrictions can include screen time, location sharing, and more.
According to technology experts in digital rights and privacy, such an approach is flawed as it does not ensure that online services are designed to uphold children’s rights and interests by default.
Furthermore, experts believe that access restrictions can jeopardize privacy and security all internet users by requiring everyone to verify their age.
“Existing age-verification technologies are either insufficiently accurate, undermine privacy and data security, or are not widely available across populations,” the letter reads, with the experts warning that age-verification mandates could also “risk cementing the dominance” of Big Tech giants.
This isn’t the first time that privacy technology has sounded the alarm against widespread age verification laws.
Last week, Proton CEO and founder Andy Yen opined that global age verification pushed “the death of anonymity online.” Earlier in March, over 400 scientists also called for a halt to mandatory age verification until there is “scientific consensus” that such a practice does not do more harm than good.
“VPN Loophole”
In addition to age verification and new online restrictions, signtorires are particularly concerned about efforts to close what has been deemed the “VPN loophole.” It’s the idea that VPN services are used as a circumvention tool to bypass mandatory age checks.
However, VPNs are important privacy and security tools that people use every day to mitigate online harm. “Restricting the use of privacy-protecting technologies undermines efforts to empower users to navigate the web safely and develop digital literacy,” Mozilla said.
Despite Lord’s original idea of an outright ban on VPNs for children not ending up in the final text, the law still includes an obligation for service providers to take “reasonable anti-circumvention measures.”
The fate of VPNs is also not yet decided. New restrictions may be introduced following the ongoing online security consultation.
On April 23, the VPN Trust Initiative released a statement warning UK lawmakers that VPN restrictions could expose children to “significant harm.” Other groups, including Mozilla, are set to share additional positions in the coming days.
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