The UK House of Lords has voted to extend age verification requirements to VPNs and a wide range of online platforms. Amendments to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill mandate age checks for services offering VPNs in the UK and for most user-to-user services under the Online Safety Act framework.

This move significantly expands the reach of the controversial Online Safety Act. It links child safety goals to digital identity checks, affecting platforms like social networks, forums, and gaming services. While framed as a social media ban for under-16s, the practical scope is far broader, embedding verification across most interactive online infrastructure.

The vote advances two key amendments, while rejecting more intrusive proposals like mandatory device-level surveillance. As the bill moves to its third reading, the industry watches how digital privacy tools like VPNs will navigate conflicting obligations. The decision sets a precedent for balancing child protection with digital autonomy in Western democracies.