EU calls VPNs 'a loophole that needs closing' in age verification push

Source: Hacker News

EU warns that VPNs are being used to bypass age‑verification systems

The European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS) has warned that virtual private networks (VPNs) are increasingly being used to bypass online age‑verification systems, describing the trend as “a loophole in the legislation that needs closing.”

Governments across Europe and elsewhere continue expanding online child‑safety rules that require platforms to verify users’ ages before granting access to adult or age‑restricted content.

How VPNs work and why they matter

VPNs are privacy tools that encrypt internet traffic and hide a user’s IP address by routing connections through remote servers. While widely used for legitimate purposes—protecting communications, avoiding surveillance, and enabling secure remote work—regulators are concerned that the same technology allows minors to circumvent regional age checks.

The EPRS notes that VPN usage surged after mandatory age‑verification laws took effect in countries including the United Kingdom and several U.S. states. In the UK, where online services are now required to prevent children from accessing harmful content, VPN apps reportedly dominated download charts after the law came into force.

— European Parliamentary Research Service (@EP_EPRS) May 6 2026

Regulatory response

The EPRS document explicitly frames VPNs as a regulatory gap, stating that some policymakers and child‑safety advocates believe VPN access itself should require age verification. England’s Children’s Commissioner has also called for VPN services to be restricted to adults only.

• Forcing users to verify their identity before accessing VPN services could significantly weaken anonymity protections and create new risks around surveillance and data collection. VPN providers and privacy advocates have already expressed objections in a letter to UK policymakers.
• Researchers recently uncovered multiple security and privacy flaws in the European Commission’s official age‑verification app, which was found storing sensitive biometric images in unencrypted locations and exposing weaknesses that could allow users to bypass verification controls entirely. See the report on security flaws.

Technical challenges of age verification

The EPRS paper acknowledges that age verification remains technically difficult and fragmented across the EU. Current systems—based on self‑declaration, age estimation, or identity verification—are relatively easy for minors to bypass.

Emerging approaches include “double‑blind” verification systems used in France, where websites receive only confirmation that a user meets age requirements without learning the user’s identity, while the verification provider does not see which websites the user visits.

Legislative moves targeting VPN use

Regulators are beginning to address VPN use directly in legislation:

• Utah became the first U.S. state to enact a law explicitly targeting VPN use in online age verification. The state’s SB 73 defines a user’s location based on physical presence rather than apparent IP address, even if VPNs or proxy services are used to mask it. Details are available in the Utah law article.
• The EPRS suggests that VPN providers may face increasing scrutiny as the EU revises cybersecurity and online‑safety legislation. Future updates to the EU Cybersecurity Act could introduce child‑safety requirements aimed at preventing VPN misuse to bypass legal protections.