Can I get around the social media ban with a VPN?
What is a VPN, and can it be used to manipulate the UK government's proposed ban on Instagram, Facebook and other sites
Online searches for VPNs spiked by 165% after the government announced a social media ban for under-16s, according to a report.
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Sir Keir Starmer announced on Monday that, from next year, anyone under 16 will be unable to use Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, or any other such app or website.
The UK government is following the blueprint of Australia, which has brought in the same restrictions, but doubts remain about how effective it will be, considering two-thirds of teens Down Under are still using the sites.
Technology secretary Liz Kendall told Nick Ferrari at Breakfast on LBC that the regulator needed to strengthen its enforcement powers and strategy amid concerns companies are not being effectively punished for breaking online safety rules.
Ms Kendall said: “We need to make sure that if fines are given and they’re not paid, we have to take it to the next step.”
Concerns have been raised as to whether under-16s will be able to bypass the restrictions by using a VPN.
On the search data, Richy George, chief revenue officer at IT-AMG, told City AM: “Within hours of the ban being confirmed, the nation’s teenagers appear to have been Googling how to get around it rather than disengaging from social media altogether.”
What is a VPN?
A VPN, which stands for virtual private network, is software that can be installed on computers and phones to effectively take them off the grid from national restrictions.
It can allow greater privacy as well as access to content that is subject to geographical restrictions.
“Every device operates with what’s known as an IP address - those are identifiable and reveal details about your connection to the Internet - like your location and provider,” explains LBC’s Will Guyatt.
“One of the main things a VPN does is change or alter this IP address.”
He added: “Because VPNs can change your device IP address they make it easy to pretend your device is operating in a different country. Instead of writing this in Swindon - it would look as though I was in Sweden.”
There have been concerns that VPNs have the capability to allow users to bypass restrictions that were introduced as part of the Online Safety Act last year.
Baroness Liz Lloyd said there is “limited evidence on children’s use of VPNs,” and has said that the government has no plans to ban them.
However, the government did launch a consultation to “confront the full range of risks children face online”.
“This includes examining restrictions on children’s use of AI chatbots, as well as options to age-restrict or limit children’s VPN use where it undermines safety protections and changing the age of digital consent,” the government said.
This means that VPNs might be subject to the same age verifications to access that harmful content currently is.
Can I get around the social media ban with a VPN?
Full details as to what the social media ban could entail will likely be revealed next month, and Ms Kendall has said that the issue of VPNs is being debated.
Ms Kendall told Nick Ferrari: “I told MPs yesterday I'm going to come back to the House with a statement on the issue of VPNs in July.
"There are very strong views on both sides of this. For some people, it is about privacy, and it is the ability to use that is really held strongly by people.
"And for others, they say they should be banned because kids are using them to get around.
"Yes. And so I— the main thing that we've done is we've commissioned additional research on this because I've not been happy with the evidence.”