In the context of concerns around young people’s interactions with digital technologies, the UK’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is consulting on additional measures to prepare young people for growing up in a digital world. Before the backdrop of users circumventing age assurance systems mandated under the UK’s Online Safety Act, the consultation considers age-gating virtual private networks (VPNs).

Mozilla’s mission is grounded in the belief that the internet must remain open and accessible to all, and that privacy and security online are fundamental human rights. We recognize that the protection of young people online is one of the most pressing and challenging questions of our time, and we are committed to supporting policy proposals that address the root causes of online harms. We are concerned, however, that blunt interventions like mandatory age assurance and restricting access to tools like VPNs are not effective in improving the protection afforded to young people online, while undermining the fundamental rights of all users.

VPNs serve as critical privacy and security tools for users across all ages. By hiding users’ IP addresses, VPNs help protect users’ location, reduce tracking and avoid IP-based profiling. People use VPNs for lots of different reasons: to connect to their school’s or employer’s network remotely, to avoid censorship or to simply protect their privacy and security online. While being able to access VPNs is especially important for vulnerable groups like activists, dissidents or journalists, VPNs improve everyone’s baseline protection online.

Young people are particularly vulnerable to online tracking, targeted advertising, and the risks that flow from personal data being collected and processed for commercial purposes without adequate consent or transparency. In a world in which young people are interacting with digital technologies as part of their realities from young ages onward, restricting young people’s access to privacy-protecting technologies is in tension with the goal of equipping them to navigate the internet safely and competently. In order to be able to develop agency and responsible habits in engaging with digital technologies, it is crucial for young people to be introduced to best practices and key safety and privacy tools as they engage with the online world.

Rather than age-gating technologies like VPNs, we believe that regulators should address the root causes of online harm by holding platforms to account, encouraging the responsible use of parental controls and investing in digital skills and a whole of society approach to digital wellbeing.

Read our full submission to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.