We are consulting on further measures to prepare children for the future in an age of rapid technological change. This includes potential ag
If you live in the UK, are unhappy about the Online Safety Act for any of the wide variety of reasons out there to be unhappy about it, and have strong feelings on the possibility of VPNs being banned, I would recommend taking some time to fill in this consultation before 11:59pm 26th May 2026. A lot of the questions are incredibly leading and are operating on the assumption that everyone filling it in will be pro further age restriction, but I think it's worth trying to have your say anyway.
I'm putting the long form answers I gave under the cut bc my main reason for making this post is that I haven't seen a lot of guidance on how to answer the consultation, which I think is a shame seeing how confusing a lot of it is phrased. Feel free to reword any of my answers - I mostly came at it from an online privacy + youth lib perspective as those are my major priorities here, so you may also have your own critiques to make
What are the benefits of social media use, and being online, for children?Â
Interacting with peers, especially for children with disabilities or who cannot interact with peers in person for other reasons. I was very struck by an article about the experiences of children with disabilities in Australia after they banned social media for under 16s, and how isolated they had become.
The internet also gives children greater access to support with issues they may be facing, such as abuse at home, addiction issues, or mental health struggles. I think it is a disgrace that since the Online Safety Act was passed, children and young people now cannot access things like addiction or mental health support forums and other resources, which may have been life-saving for them.
What are the harms or risks of social media use, and being online, for children?
I believe the use of algorithms in many social media apps can be harmful for children and young people, and even for older people. I am also concerned about how much data and personal information social media and tech companies gather. In my opinion, this should be the focus of regulations around technology and the internet - for example, introducing requirements for social media apps to give users the option to turn off data collection and algorithmically driven timelines. At the moment, I believe the Online Safety Act is only adding the issue by making it a requirement to give websites and social media your personal information for age verification purposes.
Please explain the reasoning behind your answers about minimum age requirements:
I am opposed to minimum age requirements due to the issues with age verification. I think it is terrible that the Online Safety Act has resulted in users having to upload sensitive personal information to be able to use certain websites, and I do not believe most tech companies can be trusted to keep this data secure. One of the biggest issues of our digital age in my opinion is tech companies harvesting users' data, and requiring more age verification only makes this issue worse.
What do you think the impacts would be of having a minimum age requirement higher than 13 for social media services?
I think this would be absolutely terrible for young people, especially the most vulnerable young people. We have seen that in Australia the ban on social media for under 16s has had incredibly negative impacts for young people with disabilities who are unable to interact with their peers in real life, and have resulted in them becoming more isolated from their friends and peers. I believe this would also increase the isolation and vulnerability of children and young people in abusive families. This is on top of the existing issues with age verification anyway - that it is a violation of users' privacy to have to upload personal information to verify their ages, and I do not believe most tech companies can be trusted with this sensitive data.
Some services are already exempt from the Online Safety Act. Examples include internal business services, services with limited functionalities and services provided by persons providing education or childcare.
Are there additional types of service which you think would be appropriate to exempt from age restrictions? Â
I believe the Online Safety Act is currently doing more harm than good, and online services should not be so harshly age-restricted. This is partly because of the huge privacy and security concerns due to the requirement to submit ID when accessing online content deemed inappropriate for under 18s. It is ridiculous to expect people to have to submit their sensitive personal information to third-party companies that we have no idea of the trustworthiness of, and may share or leak our data to anyone.
My second reason for believing this is that the reach of the Online Safety Act is far too extreme. I have seen reports of sites that offer support to people struggling with addiction or with thoughts of suicide being blocked as "adult content", even though these are issues that affect many young people, and they deserve to be able to access support and information about them. I believe this is a potential risk with any attempts to restrict the internet for children and young people, that is simply not worth any small positive impact that we may see.
Finally, the Online Safety Act risks UK citizens being denied access to useful online resources, due to many websites not being able to comply with these guidelines and instead pull out of operating in the UK completely. Again, this has happened with certain resources like addiction support forums, leaving many vulnerable people at risk.
What do you think the impacts might be from requiring age assurance across a greater number of online platforms?
I believe the impacts of requiring greater age assurance would be almost entirely negative, due to the issues with age verification. I think it is terrible that the Online Safety Act has resulted in users having to upload sensitive personal information to be able to use certain websites, and I do not believe most tech companies can be trusted to keep this data secure. One of the biggest issues of our digital age in my opinion is tech companies harvesting users' data, and requiring more age verification only makes this issue worse.
What should be considered to make age-restricting VPNs effective and workable?
I don't think you should consider age-restricting VPNs at all.
What do you think the impacts would be if VPNs were age-restricted?
I believe this would have a negative impact on the privacy and safety of everyone. Firstly, VPNs are often used by journalists and other people who have reasons for needing security and privacy online, and for their online presence not to be tied to their real-world identity. Secondly, I believe I have made it clear by this point that I don't think people should have to upload their personal information and ID documents to access online resources. I believe this is a gross violation of privacy and will only result in untrustworthy tech companies having even greater access to people's personal data.
For "Parents should have control over the online experiences of their children" I put Strongly disagree
Please explain the reasoning behind your answer:
It is a harsh and unfortunate truth that many children are raised in abusive families. Many of these children are additionally vulnerable for other reasons and for many of these children, online support and resources can be a lifeline. Even for children not in abusive families, online support and resources can be a lifeline when dealing with issues they may not wish to disclose to their parents, such as self-harm or addiction. I believe that our policies around children and young people must work for the most vulnerable children and young people. Giving parents greater control of what their children do online will only harm the most vulnerable children.
