The government needs to stop children using virtual private networks (VPNs) to bypass age checks on porn sites, the children's commissioner for England has said.
Dame Rachel de Souza told BBC Newsnight it was "absolutely a loophole that needs closing" and called for age verification on VPNs.
VPNs can disguise your location online - allowing you to use the internet as though you are in another country. It means that they can be used to bypass requirements of the Online Safety Act, which mandated platforms with certain adult content to start checking the age of users.
A government spokesperson said VPNs are legal tools for adults and there are no plans to ban them.
The children's commissioner's recommendation is included in a new report, external, which found the proportion of children saying they have seen pornography online has risen in the past two years.
Last month VPNs were the most downloaded apps on Apple's App Store in the UK after sites such as PornHub, Reddit and X began requiring age verification.
Virtual private networks connect users to websites using a remote server and conceal their actual IP address and location, meaning they can circumvent blocks on particular sites or content.
Dame Rachel told BBC Newsnight: "Of course, we need age verification on VPNs - it's absolutely a loophole that needs closing and that's one of my major recommendations."
She wants ministers to explore requiring VPNs "to implement highly effective age assurances to stop underage users from accessing pornography."
Source and further reading:
www.bbc.co.uk
Dame Rachel de Souza told BBC Newsnight it was "absolutely a loophole that needs closing" and called for age verification on VPNs.
VPNs can disguise your location online - allowing you to use the internet as though you are in another country. It means that they can be used to bypass requirements of the Online Safety Act, which mandated platforms with certain adult content to start checking the age of users.
A government spokesperson said VPNs are legal tools for adults and there are no plans to ban them.
The children's commissioner's recommendation is included in a new report, external, which found the proportion of children saying they have seen pornography online has risen in the past two years.
Last month VPNs were the most downloaded apps on Apple's App Store in the UK after sites such as PornHub, Reddit and X began requiring age verification.
Virtual private networks connect users to websites using a remote server and conceal their actual IP address and location, meaning they can circumvent blocks on particular sites or content.
Dame Rachel told BBC Newsnight: "Of course, we need age verification on VPNs - it's absolutely a loophole that needs closing and that's one of my major recommendations."
She wants ministers to explore requiring VPNs "to implement highly effective age assurances to stop underage users from accessing pornography."
Source and further reading:
Stop children using VPNs to watch porn, ministers told
The children's commissioner for England tells the BBC virtual private networks are a "loophole that needs closing.
www.bbc.co.uk