Survey of age assurance circumvention by young people

DSIT · awarded 27 February 2026

Who

Buyer	DSIT Manchester
Supplier	BMG Research LTD
Category	services
Classification	Research and development services and related consultancy services CPV 73000000
Notice published	19 March 2026

What it is for

In July 2025 the Online Safety Act's Child Safety Duties came into force, requiring online services to implement highly effective age assurance measures to prevent children from accessing harmful or age-inappropriate content. These duties were a major milestone in the government's approach to improving children's online safety. Following implementation, Ofcom reported that UK daily active users of virtual private networks (VPN) apps temporarily doubled to around 1.5 million. Emerging research suggests that this spike in VPN usage was not primarily driven by child users. We are interested in exploring this further. Findings will inform government understanding, help shape future interventions and ensure the Act delivers its intended protections for children. To inform government understanding, we want to explore the impact of circumvention techniques and VPNs further. To better understand the prevalence and methods of age assurance circumvention among children, including the use of VPNs.

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