Open Rights Group

VPNs are safe... for now 🛡️

The government backs down on restricting this vital cybersecurity tool.

Alongside the announcement of a social media curfew for 16 and 17 year olds comes a win for privacy! Plans to age-gate or restrict VPNs have been dropped, but we're not complacent to future risks.

The decision to row back on threats to VPN use in the UK comes after ORG and over 20 organisations issued a joint letter yesterday. We warned that requiring users to go through age checks or other restrictions “would undercut the security and privacy of millions, without making children safer.”

Read more ➡️ https://www.theregister.com/networks/2026/07/14/hands-off-our-vpns-privacy-groups-tell-uk-ministers/5271070

Independent research commissioned by DSIT concluded that privacy is the driver behind VPN use, as ORG has long pointed out. Just 7-10% of all British children using a VPN do so to access restricted platforms. Suggestions that VPNs should be restricted to prop up a social media ban are wrong.

Read more ➡️ https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/no-its-not-age-verification-privacy-is-the-top-reason-uk-children-use-a-vpn

VPNs are a key cybersecurity tool for millions. They keep young people safe from harassment. Remote working secure. Journalists, activists and whistleblowers protected. Protect everyone using public WiFi.

But, parents should talk to children about VPN use and ensure they use a reputable company.

Find out more ➡️ https://www.openrightsgroup.org/publications/briefing-vpns-and-the-online-safety-act/

UK 16- and 17-year-olds to be encouraged to follow midnight social media curfew Midnight to 6am block on some apps is latest stage of Labour’s bid to protect young people from online harms

Digital sovereignty, if done right, could ensure we have a thriving software ecosystem.

Ecological digital sovereignty is where digital systems are diverse, interoperable, locally adaptable, and not controlled by any single point of power.

We must end the UK's digital subservience to US tech.

It has put the systems that underpin our public services and the State at risk of digital ransom from US powers of service withdrawal or data extraction.

We need a Digital Sovereignty strategy based on open source.

Sign the petition ➡️ https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/stop-trump-s-kill-switch-secure-our-digital-sovereignty

ORG’s James Baker writes for Green Isles ⬇️

Ecological Digital Sovereignty: Monocultures to Ecosystems - Greenisles.uk By James Baker, Platform Power and Free Expression Program Manager at the Open Rights Group. As a child, I remember journeys before screens were commonplace. Sitting with my head against the cool window of a car or train, feeling the vibrations and watching landscapes roll past. The views of nature....

Today we’ve joined over 20 organisations to urge the UK Government to protect children online without making the internet less secure by restricting VPNs.

Child safety and security aren’t competing objectives – we need both.

Read our letter ➡️ https://www.openrightsgroup.org/publications/joint-letter-protect-vpns/

VPNs aren’t just for privacy.

They’re essential cybersecurity tools that protect our personal data, help people to work or study remotely, and defend against cyber threats.

Restricting them makes everyone less safe – including children.

Sign and share the petition ➡️ https://action.openrightsgroup.org/tell-government-protect-vpn-use-uk