Baroness Benjamin Liberal Democrat;
To ask His Majesty's Government what measures have been put in place to prevent children using virtual private networks to avoid age verification to access harmful material online.
Baroness Lloyd of Effra Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology),
The Online Safety Act requires services to use highly effective
age assurance to prevent children in the UK from encountering harmful content. ofcom's guidance makes it clear that age assurance must be robust to prevent circumvention. Services must also take steps to mitigate against circumvention methods that are
easily accessible to children. Providers that do not comply with their child safety duties by deliberately promoting the use of VPNs could face enforcement action under the Act.
Baroness Benjamin
I thank the Minister for that Answer. However, Childnet has discovered an increase in the use of VPNs by children in the last three months. While younger children are deterred by age-verification checks, teenagers actively seek out
and share methods to circumvent them. Many minors are downloading free VPN applications that often monetise user data and expose devices to viruses. Also, by relocating to countries with few or no internet safety Laws, children can be exposed to more
extreme, illegal or unmoderated content. Perhaps children under 16 should be banned from social media altogether. What action will the Government take to address the increasing number of children using VPNs? Will they instruct ofcom to follow the lead of
the Australian e-safety commissioner and require that digital services check VPN traffic for technical and behavioural red flags that suggest a user in the UK may be a child? Let us act sooner rather than later.
Baroness Lloyd of Effra
We recognise the international efforts to better protect children online, including in Australia, and we are working with the Australian Government to understand the impact of their policies, including that one. There
is currently limited evidence on how many children use VPNs, and the Government are addressing this evidence gap. We welcome any further evidence in this area, such as that quoted by the noble Baroness, Lady Benjamin, to complement our understanding. The
Government will ensure that we act where we need to, as we have seen in other areas, and that future interventions are proportionate and evidence based.
...
Lord Carlile of Berriew Chair,
Northern Ireland Scrutiny Committee
On the Radio 4 Today programme this morning, ofcom admitted that none of the three fines levied so far has been paid. Is it not right that Ofcom should be encouraged to take much
stronger enforcement action against those who do not pay by making it clear that within a very short time, they will lose their right to appear on any screen in the United Kingdom unless their enforcement is fit for purpose?
