Age Checks Paved The Way: Is Your VPN The Next Digital Domino?

Presenting The Stepback, a periodical bulletin issued each week examining a pivotal narrative from the realm of technology. To obtain further information concerning digital age authentication and personal confidentiality, consult Emma Roth’s updates. The Stepback is delivered to the mailboxes of our subscribers at 8AM ET. Subscribe to receive The Stepback here.

Virtual private networks, or VPNs, did not initially serve the purpose of gaining entry to geographically restricted Netflix content, circumventing internet censorship, or hindering your internet service provider (ISP) from monitoring your online activity. A significant period elapsed before VPNs evolved into the contemporary technological solution we know today, which establishes a secure, coded link connecting your apparatus to a secluded server, simultaneously masking your IP address and web navigation information.

The underlying idea of VPNs initially surfaced during the 1990s, driven by an unextraordinary objective: to facilitate the secure transmission of data between corporate branches. Rather than incurring substantial expenses for the costly dedicated lines requisite for establishing these links, numerous enterprises opted to leverage their current frameworks to convey information through protected “conduits” over the internet. Though Microsoft, AT&T, and Cisco spearheaded initial iterations of this technology, Francis Dinha and James Yonan proceeded to introduce OpenVPN in 2001, providing a more robust, publicly accessible option for both commercial entities and individual users.

However, circumstances shifted in 2013, when the informant Edward Snowden disclosed classified papers uncovering that the National Security Agency had been conducting extensive monitoring initiatives throughout the internet. This disclosure heightened public consciousness regarding security vulnerabilities, evidenced by a 2015 Pew Research study indicating that 34 percent of Americans had undertaken at least one measure to safeguard their digital privacy. Merely a year subsequent, an additional Pew Research poll ascertained that 86 percent of Americans endeavored to “erase or obscure their online presence” through actions such as deleting cookies, encrypting their electronic mail, or employing VPNs. The proliferation of streaming services and geo-restricted video collections also generated clear advantages for possessing a VPN, besides the widespread adoption of virtual networks in file-sharing via torrents.

While Snowden might have ignited a privacy advocacy trend originating from state monitoring, a fresh surge in VPN usage is being propelled by an alternative impetus: the advent of the age-restricted internet.

Legislators worldwide are enacting regulations pertaining to digital age authentication as components of alleged initiatives to ensure children’s safety on the internet. However, these endeavors compromise the confidentiality of all other individuals and their capacity for unrestricted internet access. Pervasive demands to submit identification, financial card particulars, or record a video self-portrait to gain entry to online material pose a risk of stripping anonymity from all users, concurrently exposing vast quantities of private data to the peril of security compromises.

Consequently, numerous individuals are resorting to VPNs to bypass these stipulations, since they can utilize this technology to obscure their geographical position and portray their internet activity as originating from an alternate state or nation — a jurisdiction devoid of age authentication mandates.

During the previous year, inquiries for VPNs surged in Florida following the state’s mandate for age authentication on mature content sites, with analogous situations unfolding in other nations. Within the UK, the adoption of mobile VPNs escalated sharply after the implementation of regulations compelling users to confirm their age to access adult websites and platforms such as Reddit, Bluesky, and Discord. VPNs are also gaining traction in Australia, a nation that prohibited individuals younger than 16 from using social media by late 2025 and instated age validation for adult content sites earlier in the current month.

The prospect of VPNs faces jeopardy. In Michigan, half a dozen Republican legislators put forth a legislative proposal that would not merely limit entry to VPNs but also outlaw the dissemination of adult content, compel internet service providers to “obstruct and screen” an extensive array of mature material, and specifically aim at representations of transgender individuals on the internet. Wisconsin legislators incorporated a VPN prohibition into the state’s age authentication legislation, yet they have subsequently rescinded this clause following extensive public disapproval.

Authorities in nations beyond the US are also scrutinizing VPN utilization. In the past year, UK Children’s Commissioner Rachel de Souza characterized VPNs as a “gap requiring closure” during a BBC interview, simultaneously, the nation’s telecommunications oversight body, Ofcom, is observing VPN deployment, as per a report from TechRadar article. Concurrently, the French Minister Delegate for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Affairs, Anne Le Hénanff, stated that VPNs represent “the subsequent item on my agenda” subsequent to France’s implementation of a social media prohibition for minors under 15.

Imposing limitations on VPNs would jeopardize user confidentiality and safety. Beyond commercial entities and scholars who employ VPNs for secure access to digital assets or communication channels, numerous individuals utilize VPNs for protective motives, comprising advocates, reporters, and members of the LGBTQ+ demographic, as highlighted by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). A prohibition on VPNs may prove ineffectual, furthermore, since users would assuredly discover alternative methods, like establishing their own secluded networks.

The Cato Institute, a libertarian policy organization, also objects to the notion of prohibiting VPNs. Legislation limiting access to this technology would position the US, the UK, Australia, and similar nations alongside North Korea, Russia, and China, countries that perceive this technology as a menace to their state’s autocratic governance.

Despite the fact that the underlying idea and implementation of digital age authentication remain underdeveloped, legislators are proceeding regardless, rendering the escalation of perils to VPNs considerably more disquieting.