Half of the US population now needs to verify their age to view certain content online. Meanwhile, people in the UK, Europe, and Australia are increasingly required to scan passports or undergo facial age estimation to access adult sites, social media, and even search engines.
With more countries set to join the fold in 2026, the era of anonymous browsing is rapidly declining.
Digital rights groups say that age verification measures compromise privacy, weaken data security, and invite unprecedented levels of censorship – concerns that are already driving a surge in people turning to the best VPN services to protect their data.
While the momentum has been building for years, 2025 was the year the internet became fully age-gated as major laws moved from the statute books to browsers. I spoke with leading privacy experts and industry analysts to understand the fallout of this monumental shift – and discuss what to expect in 2026.
Why was 2025 a decisive year?
The first turning point was the UK’s implementation of the Online Safety Act. In July, the law’s child safety duties officially came into force, requiring platforms to deploy age verification measures to block minors from harmful material online.
This was followed by the Australian government’s implementation of a social media ban for under-16s. As the first of its kind, the Australian model sparked a global debate on digital privacy and youth protection.
The whole world is now watching these developments, with countries like Denmark and Malaysia already planning to introduce similar restrictions in 2026.
The privacy conundrum
Citizens, technologists, and politicians alike agree on the importance of shielding minors from online harm. But they frequently disagree on how this should be achieved.
Laura Tyrylyte, Head of Public Relations at Nord Security (the company behind NordVPN), is supportive of government initiatives working to improve child safety online "provided they don't have negative effects on privacy and security", she told TechRadar.
The risk to data privacy is the primary point of contention, because laws often require all internet users – not just minors – to upload sensitive documents like passports or banking details to third-party systems, or undergo biometric face scans. Critics argue that once this data is collected, it becomes a permanent honeypot for hackers.
These concerns aren't just theoretical. In October 2025, a breach of a third-party vendor used by Discord led to the exposure of approximately 70,000 government ID photos.
Molly Buckley, an activist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), thinks age verification is not the solution to improving child safety online that regulators think it is.
"The answer is not to ask us to pass even more of our most sensitive, most valuable data over to big tech companies, whom we say we don't trust in the first place," Buckley said.
"Young people don't need bans"
Beyond privacy and security, digital rights groups are also sounding the alarm over the chilling effect age verification laws have on freedom of speech.
In the UK, for instance, the Online Safety Act has already forced platforms like Reddit to implement age-gating for various communities, including those focused on mental health support or news from conflict zones. Meanwhile, in Australia teenagers under 16 are now legally cut off from social media entirely.
According to John Perrino, Senior Policy and Advocacy Expert at the Internet Society, the ultimate goal should be to keep children safe on the internet, not keep them off the internet.
"Young people need help and safeguards, not a ban that cuts off existing connections and support networks," Perrino said.
Molly Buckley shares this concern, noting that it's misguided to treat all minors the same. "We're treating 17-year-olds and 4-year-olds the same across the board, and we know that that's not gonna work for online safety," Buckley said.
VPN: from a security to circumvention tool
As the internet becomes increasingly restricted, the use of virtual private network (VPN) apps has spiked as users seek a quick way to protect their data. While public awareness of this technology has grown, lawmakers are increasingly viewing VPNs as a loophole to be closed rather than a vital security tool.
In the US, lawmakers in Wisconsin and Michigan have tabled age verification proposals that include an obligation to block VPN traffic. Meanwhile, some MPs in the UK are also pushing for stricter rules on VPN usage, while the regulator Ofcom has confirmed to TechRadar that it is currently monitoring VPN use.
According to Tyrylyte, this trend stems from a dangerous misconception that views VPNs purely as circumvention tools. "VPN services are fundamentally privacy and security tools, and if such thinking leads to limiting access to VPN services, it will have a significant negative impact on digital freedom and cybersecurity," she warns.
Christine Bannan, US Public Policy Manager at Proton (the company behind Proton VPN) is also worried about this increasingly widespread misunderstanding: "A few years ago, our policy work barely touched VPNs; today it’s a major focus. The irony is that the same technology that helps activists bypass authoritarian censorship is now being examined as a way to dodge age‑verification rules that democracies actually support."
What's next for 2026?
It seems certain that age verification is here to stay. And with it, experts warn our privacy online could be dramatically reshaped.
"Mandatory age verification is a step towards mandatory authentication for online access," said Robin Wilton, the Internet Society's Senior Director for Internet Trust,
In response, major industry players like Proton and NordVPN have committed to monitoring these implementations closely in the coming 12 months. At the moment, they are open to discussing the best way to ensure people's safety online while protecting privacy with regulators.
And while technologists focus on privacy-preserving tools and infrastructure, digital rights groups are preparing for a long legal battle over the implications for free speech.
"We're at a really important moment to push back against the misconceptions about these bills," Buckley told TechRadar. "I'm hoping we can keep back the tide enough that anonymity online isn't completely destroyed."
We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone using a VPN service to break the law or conduct illegal activities. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.
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