VPNs Are Now the Target

Age verification laws are driving a global push to crack down on the internet's last privacy tool.

Blue padlock on a dark surface with circuit board pattern

TL;DR: VPNs let people bypass age verification checkpoints. Now governments want to shut that door. Australia's March 9 age verification rules triggered a massive VPN surge. NordVPN jumped from #189 to #13 in the App Store. The UK House of Lords voted 207-159 in January to ban VPNs for anyone under 18. Wisconsin almost became the first US state to force websites to block VPN users entirely. The infrastructure to verify ages is becoming infrastructure to eliminate online privacy.

Australia: VPNs Surge as Age Gates Go Up

On March 9, 2026, Australia's eSafety Commissioner began enforcing "hard" age verification for adult content, R18+ games, and social media access for 16-17 year olds. The response was immediate.[1]

VPN downloads exploded. Proton VPN shot from #174 to #19 in the iPhone App Store. NordVPN jumped from #189 to #13. VPN Super Unlimited Proxy leaped from #40 to #7.[2] Australians understood exactly what was happening: the government wanted to track what they accessed online. They grabbed the tool that stops that.

This mirrors what happened in the UK. When the Online Safety Act's age verification rules went into effect, four of the top five downloaded apps in Britain's App Store were VPNs. One provider saw downloads jump 1,800%.[3]

Major adult content providers chose to block Australia entirely rather than implement age checks. Aylo (owner of Pornhub, RedTube, and YouPorn) now serves only "safe-for-work" content to Australian IP addresses. The same playbook they used when Texas, Virginia, and other US states passed similar laws.[4]

Regulators Want to Close the Loophole

Here's the problem for governments: VPNs work. Connect to a server in a country without age verification mandates, and the checkpoints vanish. You're browsing from "Germany" or "Japan" as far as the website knows.

So the response isn't to question whether age verification makes sense. It's to go after VPNs.

Australia's eSafety Commissioner guidance requires service providers to take "reasonable steps" to prevent workarounds, explicitly including VPN detection and restriction.[5] Regulators are telegraphing that VPN crackdowns are coming.

This creates an impossible choice for website operators: block all VPN users globally (affecting millions of legitimate privacy-conscious users worldwide), or risk Australian legal liability if a single Australian teen connects through one.

UK: House of Lords Votes to Ban VPNs for Minors

On January 21, 2026, the UK House of Lords passed Amendment 92 to the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill by a vote of 207-159. The amendment requires regulations "which prohibit the provision to UK children of a Relevant VPN Service" within 12 months.[6]

What counts as a child? Anyone under 18.

How do you verify age for a VPN? The same invasive methods used everywhere else: government ID upload, facial recognition, bank verification. The very tools VPNs help people avoid.

The amendment's explanatory statement was blunt: it exists to stop children from using VPNs to "evade the OSA age-gating processes."[7] The Online Safety Act requires age verification. VPNs let people skip it. So VPNs have to go.

The bill now goes to the House of Commons. Labour has a majority and indicated they may block the VPN provisions. But the UK government is hedging: in March 2026, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology launched a consultation on "growing up in the online world" that specifically asks whether VPNs should require age verification. That consultation runs until May 26.[8]

The questions being asked:

  • Should app stores like Apple and Google age-gate VPN applications?
  • Should VPN providers implement age verification before granting access?
  • What "technical standards" could limit VPN functionality for minors?

Notice the framing. Not "should we do this?" but "how should we do this?"

Wisconsin: The First US State to Try Banning VPN Access

Wisconsin's Assembly Bill 105 / Senate Bill 130 nearly made history. The bill required age verification for websites hosting "sexual" content (standard at this point) but added a provision requiring those sites to block any user connecting via VPN.[9]

The EFF called it "a spectacularly bad idea."[10]

VPN providers pointed out the obvious technical problem: a website can't tell if a VPN user is in Madison, Wisconsin or Geneva, Switzerland. To comply with the law, platforms would have to block all VPN users everywhere, not just Wisconsinites.

Following widespread pushback, Wisconsin legislators stripped the VPN provision in February 2026. The remaining age verification bill awaits Governor Tony Evers' signature.[11]

But the precedent matters. Wisconsin tried. Michigan filed a similar bill last September that goes even further, attempting to ban the "promotion or sale of circumvention tools."[12] The idea that privacy tools should be illegal is now on the legislative menu.

The Pattern Is Clear

Step one: Pass age verification laws. Justify them as protecting children.

Step two: Watch people use VPNs to bypass them.

Step three: Argue that VPNs undermine child safety.

Step four: Regulate, restrict, or ban VPNs.

This is how the infrastructure to verify ages becomes infrastructure to identify everyone. Age verification databases need to be "protected" from circumvention tools. The circumvention tools are privacy tools. So privacy tools become the threat.

Australia's eSafety Commissioner wants platforms to detect and block VPNs. The UK House of Lords voted to ban them for minors. Wisconsin tried to force websites to block them entirely. The DSIT consultation is asking how to age-gate them. Each approach attacks the same target from a different angle.

What's Actually at Stake

VPNs aren't just for bypassing age gates. They're how:

  • Journalists protect sources and communicate securely
  • Activists organize without government surveillance
  • Domestic violence survivors hide their location from abusers
  • Businesses secure remote work connections
  • Travelers access home services while abroad
  • Anyone who doesn't want their ISP logging every site they visit

The UK government spends millions on VPNs for its own staff.[13] The same technology they're considering banning for citizens.

Age-gating VPNs doesn't just affect teenagers. It requires everyone to prove their age to use basic privacy tools. That means handing over ID, face scans, or financial data to yet another company, creating yet another database that can be breached, subpoenaed, or misused.

What You Can Do

Get a VPN Now

If you're in Australia, the UK, or a US state with age verification laws, set up a VPN before restrictions tighten. Choose a provider based outside Five Eyes countries (US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand) with a verified no-logs policy. Proton VPN and Mullvad are commonly recommended.

Respond to Consultations

The UK DSIT consultation on VPN age verification is open until May 26, 2026. Public responses matter. Digital rights organizations like the Open Rights Group provide templates and guidance for effective submissions.

Contact Your Representatives

Michigan's VPN ban bill hasn't had a hearing yet. Wisconsin stripped its VPN provision because of public pressure. The EFF's age verification hub tracks legislation and provides action templates.

Know the Alternatives

If VPN restrictions pass, Tor provides stronger anonymity (though it's slower). Privacy-focused browsers like Brave or Firefox with strict settings reduce tracking. The goal is layers: no single tool should be your only protection.

The Bottom Line

Age verification laws were sold as protecting children. The infrastructure they're building is a universal ID checkpoint for the internet. VPNs are the escape hatch. That's why they're being targeted.

Australia's VPN surge shows people understand this. When the government says "verify your identity," millions of Australians responded by downloading tools to hide it. The UK and US aren't far behind.

The fight over VPNs is the fight over whether online privacy survives. Age verification is the justification. But the goal is a version of the internet where anonymity is impossible and every user is identified, logged, and tracked.

That's not child safety. That's surveillance infrastructure. And once it's built, it doesn't get unbuilt.

References

  1. RMIT University - VPN use rises as Australians respond to online age-verification rules (March 2026)
  2. TechRadar - VPNs surge in Australia as mandatory age verification begins (March 2026)
  3. TechRadar - Age verification changed the internet in 2025
  4. Kotaku - How to Access and Unblock Pornhub in Australia in 2026
  5. TechRadar - Australia's age verification rules: Is a VPN ban on the horizon?
  6. ISPreview - House of Lords Votes to Ban UK Children from Using Internet VPNs (January 2026)
  7. Tom's Guide - UK Lords vote to ban VPNs for children (January 2026)
  8. TechRadar - UK launches online safety consultation on VPN age restrictions (March 2026)
  9. TechRadar - Wisconsin wants to force all adult sites to block VPNs
  10. EFF - Lawmakers Want to Ban VPNs, And They Have No Idea What They're Doing
  11. TechRadar - Wisconsin scraps VPN ban from age verification bill following backlash (February 2026)
  12. Todyl - Michigan and Wisconsin Proposed Age Verification Bills
  13. TechRadar - Investigation: UK spends millions on VPNs as government weighs ban for children

Published: March 25, 2026