UK social media ban for under 16s will come with VPN update and ‘further restrictions’ promise

The government has spoken out regarding a potential loophole ahead of its proposed plans to introduce a social media ban for u16s.

Online safety has been a key focus for the labour government in recent months, particularly after the disturbing growth of AI-generated images online which saw young women and even children sexualised in explicit pictures.

Although a sexual offences lawyer has suggested that things are only going to get worse, the government are clearly determined to stop young people from seeing adult content at such an early age.

We've already seen a ban on adult sites introduced for under 18s, with UK users forced to verify their age before accessing the content, and now a social media ban looks set to be implemented by 2027, following in the footsteps of Australia which has already seen great success from its almost unprecedented ban.

However, the existence of VPNs threw a spanner in the works when it came to accessing adult sites, and there are fears that they could cause more problems (or solve them depending on your stance), when the social media ban officially comes into existence.

Utilising the virtual private network can allow you to access content in nearly every country in the world and give off the impression that you are there, which is a great way to stay safe online, but also opens the door to this content that the government doesn't want you to see.

The Labour Party Technology Secretary has now spoken out about VPNs and confirmed that changes will be officially announced next month.

Ms Kendall told BBC Breakfast: "We will make further statements in July about VPNs and further restrictions."

She added: "I said I’d come back in July with a further statement around VPN but also additional measures we want to look at, further restrictions on AI chatbots that parents have found very worrying, more overnight curfews or breaks in doomscrolling for 16 and 17 year olds.

'We will make further statements in July about VPNs and further restrictions'

Technology Secretary Liz Kendall told #BBCBreakfast she will outline more details next month about the social media ban on under 16s in the UK - as well as additional restrictions on Virtual Private… pic.twitter.com/QvRVFGeOIP

— BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) June 16, 2026

“So yesterday’s announcement was the first of the measures and the reason we have done that is the sooner we make a decision on the main question of the ban, the sooner we can get it through Parliament and the sooner it will come into practice."

Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer has already threatened big-tech companies such as Apple and Google with severe sanctions unless they can implement new functions to prevent children under the age of 16 from seeing or taking nude images of any kind.

The Prime Minister said: "When it comes to the safety of our children, standing by is not an option. Nobody gets a free pass. That is why I’m making sure Britain is the first country in the world to make it impossible for children to take, share or view nude images.

"And I expect tech firms to make that happen. This is not an impossible challenge – these are some of the most innovative companies in the world. But if they choose not to, then we will act and change the law."