UK survey: 22% of children used VPNs in past three months

A recent UK government survey found 22% of children used a virtual private network (VPN) in the past three months and 26% have used one at some point in their lives. The survey is intended to provide data as mandatory online age checks are introduced more widely.

Among children who have used VPNs, 22% reported a parent helped set one up and 43% said a guardian pays for the service. The most-cited reason for using a VPN was privacy. Other common motivations included accessing region-locked video content and attempting to view adult material.

The report states “location-changing tools are most often used to reach gaming and adult content.” It breaks down content reached via these tools: gaming and adult content account for 35% of viewership, livestreaming 34% and messaging apps 33%.

The survey notes children actively seek platforms that lack mandatory age checks. It identifies “the most common types” of sites without age verification as “online games and gaming communities,” and says 53% of those platforms do not require checks.

The government report states “over half (53%) of children have experienced certain harmful online exposures in the last three months,” with sexually explicit content reported most often, followed by contact with adults and violent content. The survey links interactions with adults and exposure to violent content largely to multiplayer video games, citing titles such as Fortnite, Minecraft and Call of Duty as examples.

The report says its findings will be used “to inform future policy development in this area.” It does not set out specific new rules but offers data for regulators and lawmakers as age-verification systems are implemented more broadly.

Background information in the report notes that several countries are introducing stronger age-verification requirements to limit minors’ access to age-restricted material. The survey highlights that VPNs and other location-changing tools can be used to bypass regional restrictions or age filters, a consideration regulators are taking into account when designing enforcement and compliance measures.