Inquiries Southport Inquiry Hearings ongoingReported
Government response Not for the government: for Phase 2 of the Inquiry
Delivery For Phase 2 of the Inquiry to consider

SP24: VPN age verification

From The Southport Inquiry Report: Phase 1, published 13 April 2026.

Recommendation

Phase 2 should consider age verification for the use of Virtual Private Network (VPN) software and other options to avoid VPNs being used to circumvent the age-related protections in the Online Safety Act 2023.

Jurisdiction: UK-wide

Government response

This recommendation is for Phase 2 of the Inquiry to consider, so no government response to it is expected.

Delivery

This recommendation is for Phase 2 of the Inquiry to consider. It is not addressed to the government or another body, so there is no delivery to report.

Source

Inquiry Southport Inquiry
Report The Southport Inquiry Report: Phase 1 13 Apr 2026
View Source

Responsible bodies

Southport Inquiry Phase 2 Primary

Themes and tags

Harmful Algorithmic Content Promotion Online Safety Social Media Children
Recommendation made 0.5 years ago