Do not ban children from using virtual private networks
We call upon the UK Government to reject any calls or lobbying that propose to restrict or ban the use of virtual private networks ("VPNs") for children, because of the impact this would have on other VPN users.
Signatures
5,309
signatures
Government response threshold (10,000) · 5,309/10,000
Debate threshold (100,000) · 5,309/100,000
- 23 JAN 2026Petition opened for signaturesCreated by Luke Charles
Background
An amendment agreed by the House of Lords proposes an addition to the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill: "Action to prohibit the provision of VPN services to children in the United Kingdom". The method and implementation would likely rely on 3rd-party facial scans or ID checks, which we believe are invasive. Thus, such a law would cause massive collateral damage for the millions of current users who rely on VPNs for privacy and security.