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