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Lord Leong (Lab)

Speaking in the House of Lords on 15 September 2025

Debate

Online Safety Act 2023: Virtual Private Networks

Contribution

My Lords, online providers now have a legal duty to protect children from harmful content. As I said earlier, VPNs are here to stay, and people use VPNs for entirely legitimate purposes. It does not negate the protections which the Online Safety Act has put in place. Those duties prevent children accessing the most dangerous material online, such as pornography and content promoting self-harm or eating disorders. They also protect children from other harmful content, including bullying, abuse or material that encourages dangerous stunts or risky behaviour. The Government will hold services to account. The era of platforms turning a blind eye to the risks that children face online is over.

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