France Considers Restricting VPNs to Support Under-15 Social Media Ban

France’s government may consider restricting the use of VPNs as part of efforts to keep children 15 years old and younger off social media, according to Digital Affairs minister Anne Le Hénanff.

Virtual private networks, or VPNs, are services that provide an encrypted connection to the internet, shielding your internet protocol (IP) address from prying eyes.

Speaking in an interview with Franceinfo, Hénanff said that the social media ban for under-15s was “only the beginning” and that there are other measures they could consider, including restrictions on VPNs.

“VPNs, I’m not naive, we know the digital environment in which we’re all growing, obviously VPNs exist” she said. “VPNs are the next subject on my list.”

Last week, the lower house of France’s National Assembly approved the bill that would ban social media for under-15s, voting in favor by 116 to 23.

The legislation now requires approval from the National Assembly’s upper house before becoming law, with President Emmanuel Macron calling on parliamentarians to accelerate the approval process, so that the ban comes into effect by the time the next French school year begins in September.

Hénanff provided no specific details as to the extent to which VPNs might be restricted, or how any restrictions might be achieved in practice.

However, criticism from some quarters (including from writer and director Alexandre Jardin) has spurred the government into providing some clarification.

In a response to queries from French network BFM TV, a spokesperson issued a statement specifying that Hénanff accepts VPNs have numerous legitimate uses, and that she is not looking at banning them outright.

Figures within the VPN and tech industry have taken encouragement from these clarifications, with a spokesperson for NordVPN telling Decrypt that the French government recognizes how VPNs play “an essential role” in data security and business operations.

“The current legislative debate is specifically targeting the use of VPNs by minors to bypass age-verification systems (e.g., for social media or restricted content),” the spokesperson said.

To this end, NordVPN believes that the government will be exploring technical measures that would limit VPN access to underage users, something which is also happening in the UK.

“The VPN landscape in France remains unchanged for now, and consumer/pro services continue to operate legally,” NordVPN added. “So our services remain fully compliant and operational.”

Providers of decentralized VPNs may also be more relaxed about potential restrictions than providers of more traditional VPN companies, which according to NymVPN CEO Harry Halpin can be banned via court orders and by blocking IP addresses.

“However, a ban on a blockchain-based decentralized VPN like NymVPN where no single entity can control the software, servers are activated via a smart contract, and IP addresses can easily change is much harder to block,” he told Decrypt.

Even if decentralized VPNs may potentially evade restrictions, Halpin calls into question recent efforts to limit internet access, which may create a slippery slope that leads to “a society of control.”

He said “In the 2010s, bans on VPNs were done by autocratic regimes, but today it is done under the auspices of democracy and “saving the children” – but in reality bans on VPNs signal an authoritarian attempt to crush political dissent.”