VPNs make Online Safety Act useless, Farage tells grieving father whose son was blackmailed into taking his own life
VPNs make the Online Safety Act useless, Nigel Farage has told the grieving father of a 15-year-old boy who took his own life after being blackmailed by predators online.
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Speaking to LBC’s Nick Ferrari on Thursday, the Reform UK leader claimed the act will do nothing to deter predators online because they can simply download VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) “in minutes.”
The Online Safety Act came into effect on Friday, overhauling how Brits are able to interact with the internet in efforts to protect children from harmful content.
Under the rules, social media companies and websites need to meet strict rules - including "robust" age checks to prevent access to pornography and other adult content.
Nigel Farage has pledged to repeal the Act if Reform UK gains power, branding it “borderline dystopian.”
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This morning, George, whose 15-year-old son Christopher took his own life after being abused online, questioned why Farage would want to repeal legislation designed to help children.
Mr Farage responded: “It was suicide sites that this act was meant to stop - but it doesn't, thanks to VPNs.
“This legislation is the biggest threat to freedom of speech and open debate,” Mr Farage added, saying politicians have already had their speech limited since the act came into power, a claim which has not been verified.
“Most 13-year-olds are more tech savvy than this government,” Mr Farage continued, suggesting children who want to access harmful content will simply download VPNs.
Speaking directly to Christopher’s father, Mr Farage said: “If age verification was able to prevent incidents and tragedies, I would 100% support it but the problem is, it doesn't because of the VPN route.
“There needs to be a tech answer. I don't know what it is, but we need to try to find it.
“We are talking about two different things - how do we protect young people and stop them accessing dangerous and violent content.”
"George, my objection is what you're describing here is exactly what the legislation the Conservatives put in place, but then they expanded it to a whole lot of other places. George, we do need to find a solution but I'm sorry to say this is not it."
Christopher had been playing online game Roblox when a pop-up appeared, leading him to a private chat.
The person on the other side of the chat began asking the 15-year-old to perform a number of challenges.
They began innocent enough, eating cornflakes fast or running up the stairs, but quickly descended into something much darker.
He was blackmailed into staying awake for nights at a time, forced to watch grizzly horror films for hours.
The teenager was eventually blackmailed into taking his own life, just weeks before his sister’s wedding.
Labour has strongly denied the act could lead to any form of censorship.
Earlier this week, Labour minister Peter Kyle accused Mr Farage of being "on the side" of people like Jimmy Savile for wanting to repeal the Act.
Farage furiously demanded an apology, telling LBC the comments were "incredibly badly judged."
"I think we are at a place where the PM and others have become completely obsessed."
A Labour spokesperson said: “Nigel Farage would scrap vital protections for young people online, and recklessly open the floodgates to kids being exposed to extreme digital content. Reform offers anger but no answers.”