Age Verification Lobby Pushes For Age Verification Checks For VPN Use

A trade group representing companies that build age verification systems is now lobbying to extend these checks to anyone using a VPN in the UK. The Age Verification Providers Association (AVPA) wants online platforms that fall under the UK’s censorship law, the Online Safety Act, to not only detect VPN usage but also analyze user behavior to guess whether someone might be a minor in disguise.

If flagged, users would face a prompt: prove your age, or allow a one-time geolocation to confirm you’re outside the UK.

According to the AVPA, this process is necessary because VPNs can mask users’ actual locations, allowing them to appear as though they are in countries where age verification laws do not apply. The association points to data showing a dramatic increase in VPN use around the time the UK’s new internet rules were enforced, suggesting people are using these tools to bypass restrictions.

This approach treats privacy tools as a form of defiance. Here, VPNs, once considered sensible and essential for online security, are being rebranded as suspicious.

Under the new logic, using a VPN could mean you are trying to break the rules. As the UK’s censorship machinery rolls out, AVPA wants to make sure even those trying to shield their data are pulled back into the system.

The justification is familiar: VPNs can hide user locations, letting people appear as though they are accessing the internet from places where the UK’s new rules do not apply. But rather than address the backlash driving VPN usage, AVPA is proposing a dragnet approach that monitors traffic patterns, assigns risk scores based on vague behavioral signals, and then forces users to identify themselves or prove their physical location.

Privacy protections are being reclassified as regulatory gaps. VPNs, proxies, and other location-masking tools are not illegal, but under the current model, platforms are discouraged from even mentioning them. And while Ofcom has stopped short of an outright ban, it has created a climate where using a VPN can make you a target for further scrutiny.

The Online Safety Act does not require platforms to fully block underage access. Instead, it sets a vague standard: services must be “not normally accessible” to minors. In practice, this means companies are expected to close off every possible loophole, and that includes figuring out if VPN users are teenagers trying to bypass restrictions.

AVPA’s proposed process is straightforward and invasive. First, detect VPN traffic using a mix of IP blacklists and traffic analysis. Then, examine the user’s language settings, access times, engagement patterns, and payment behavior to guess whether they are a UK minor. If they match the profile, prompt them: either undergo a facial scan or ID check, or allow the site to geolocate your device once to confirm you are abroad.

They claim this is a privacy-respecting solution, insisting the geolocation check is one-time only, not ongoing. But it still hinges on coercing users into handing over sensitive information just to continue browsing. Users who want to stay anonymous or decline tracking are left with no option but to surrender or be locked out.

Even more troubling is the total lack of accountability when these systems fail. Under the current regime, users can be flagged as underage by an algorithm with no human review. Adults have already been banned from platforms like Discord based on incorrect age predictions, with no path to appeal unless they provide biometric data or official documentation. Once flagged, users are stuck. There is no due process, just an ultimatum.

AVPA argues that VPN detection and behavioral profiling will help platforms stay compliant. But what they are really advocating for is another layer of surveillance. Instead of recognizing that people are using VPNs to escape an overreaching law, they want to penalize that resistance. They are not challenging the logic of the system. They are demanding new tools to enforce it.

The broader context matters. The Online Safety Act is not a child protection measure in any meaningful sense. It is a sweeping control system that treats every user as a potential offender. It mandates identification in exchange for access, transforming the internet from a space of open communication into a series of checkpoints. Your presence online must now be justified.

The recent explosion in VPN usage is the public response to a system that asks for too much and gives back too little. When people are forced to choose between privacy and participation, many are choosing to shield themselves. AVPA’s proposal would punish them for it.

The more surveillance tools are layered into this system, the more users will be pushed out or boxed in. Already, websites are blocking UK users entirely rather than navigate the minefield of compliance. Others are geofencing features or quitting the market altogether. This is the outcome of a policy built on fear, not function.

The push to target VPN users is one more step in a growing pattern. It is not enough for the UK government to require ID scans and facial analysis. Now, even the tools people use to protect themselves from that intrusion are seen as threats. And instead of backing off, groups like AVPA want to go further.

They want platforms to watch for resistance and respond with pressure. They want to turn privacy itself into evidence of guilt. What they are building is not a safer internet. It is a controlled one.

The post Age Verification Lobby Pushes For Age Verification Checks For VPN Use appeared first on Reclaim The Net.