The EPRS warned VPNs are being used to bypass mandatory age-verification systems and suggested future EU legislation could require VPN providers to implement age checks.
Key Takeaways
VPN app downloads surged in the UK after mandatory age-verification laws took effect, prompting the EPRS to frame VPNs as a regulatory gap.
Utah’s SB 73 is the first US state law to define user location by physical presence, not IP address, explicitly targeting VPN-based bypass.
England’s Children’s Commissioner has called for VPN services to be restricted to adult-verified users only, a move privacy advocates say creates surveillance and data risks.
France’s “double-blind” verification model lets sites confirm age without learning identity, while the verification provider cannot see which sites the user visits.
The EU Commission’s own age-verification app was found storing biometric images unencrypted and exposing bypass vulnerabilities shortly after launch.
Hacker News Comment Review
Commenters flagged the headline as misleading: the EPRS paper frames the VPN-as-loophole argument as one side of a debate, not an official EU position.
The dominant technical objection is that mandatory VPN age verification undermines anonymity infrastructure broadly, not just for minors, and risks enabling state surveillance.
Several commenters noted the double-blind approach already addresses the identity-vs-age separation problem but received little policy attention compared to blunt VPN restriction proposals.
Notable Comments
@pveierland: frames VPN bans alongside encryption restrictions and client-side monitoring as connected steps toward broad digital control, not isolated child-safety measures.
@donmcronald: argues beneficial ownership of companies remains anonymous while individuals face identity mandates, calling out the asymmetry in who verification burdens fall on.
