France might seek restrictions on VPN use in campaign to keep minors off social media

France could take additional measures to prevent minors from accessing social media platforms. As his government moves forward with a plan to ban the use of social media for anyone under the age of 15, some leaders are already considering adding new restrictions. During an intervention on Franceinfo, the Minister for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Technology, Anne Le Hénanff, declared that VPNs could be the next target.

“If [this legislation] allows us to protect a very large majority of children, we will continue. And VPNs are the next topic on my list,” she said.

A virtual private network would potentially allow French citizens under the age of 15 to circumvent the ban on social networks. We’ve already seen a spike in VPN popularity in the UK last year after similar laws were passed around age-restricting content. However, a VPN also offers online privacy benefits, and the introduction of age verification requirements when your personal data must be submitted negates much of the appeal of these services.

The French ban on social media is still a work in progress. France’s National Assembly voted in favor of the restrictions last week by 116 votes to 23, allowing them to be discussed in the country’s Senate. While a single comment doesn’t mean France will actually ban VPNs for any demographic, it does indicate the direction some of the country’s leaders want to take. Critics reacted to Le Hénanff’s statements with fears that these attempts at protective measures could veer into an authoritarian direction.

The actions in France echo several other legislative measures around the world aimed at reducing children and adolescents’ access to social media and other potentially sensitive online content. The United States has seen 25 national age verification laws introduced in the past two years, which has created a new set of concerns about users’ privacy and personal data, especially when there has been no attempt to standardize how this information will be collected or protected. With data breaches at large companies already all too common, it’s hard to believe that individual sites and services that suddenly have to implement an age verification process won’t be an easy target for hacks.