Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) have been a mainstay of internet users for several decades now. Employed to protect a user’s identity, to allow people to speak without fear in a country where freedom of speech is restricted, or simply to access location-restricted websites like Netflix, VPNs have become an everyday part of the internet experience. Despite their popularity, they have long been a topic of discussion, and many critics have called for the apps to be banned, or at least restricted in the UK.
What is a VPN?
A Virtual Private Network works by sending all of your data through an encrypted tunnel. The encryption hides your location and identity by masking your IP address with a new one, created by the VPN software. IP addresses are tied to a location, which means that you can choose a different country when you choose a new IP address. While a computer will see an IP address and some basic information like device type and location, your real data is protected.
What are the Benefits of Using a VPN?
A VPN can be used by a business or individual and has several benefits. One of the principal uses for a VPN is protecting your information – for companies, a VPN could be used to protect important information like customer addresses, passwords or payment information. For individuals, a VPN can protect your data while using public Wi-Fi – this means that hackers will struggle to access your information and will keep your device safe. Whether you’re a business or an individual, a VPN can add a layer of security when making online payments or shopping online.
Whilst some critics would be critical of VPNs and claim consumers use them to circumvent UK regulations in certain industries, like iGaming and casino offers, in principle, they are simply designed for people to browse the internet without sharing their data. These days’ websites collect plenty of data about our browsing habits and these can be sold. Those that wish to avoid this can do so with a VPN, rather than just assuming a VPN is only used for something questionable.
VPNs give you freedom of location – for businesses this could make it easier to standardize the websites and information that your employees use, while it allows individuals to access geo-locked websites. With the ability to change your IP address, VPNs can also help online shoppers to secure better deals – each time you visit a website it appears like you’re a new customer so prices won’t fluctuate as much.
Why Ban VPNs?
The UK Labour Party has suggested a crackdown on the usage of VPNs in the UK in a proposed update to the Online Safety Bill – the software has long been a contentious issue as they have many benefits as well as drawbacks.
One of labour’s biggest concerns is the usage by minors to access content that isn’t suitable or legal at their age. The software can be used to bypass age verification controls which prevent access to adult websites.
What’s even more concerning is that many criminals use VPN software to hide their identity on illegal websites, particularly when purchasing illicit substances or viewing illegal content on the dark web. This makes it much more difficult for police to track criminal behaviour and catch the perpetrators.
Would a VPN Ban Work?
While there’s no denying that protecting young people and making illegal activities more difficult to conduct is a strong argument to ban VPN software, there are also many legitimate reasons for using a VPN. This includes protecting the free speech of migrants who have moved from a stricter country. These legitimate reasons make it difficult to get a ban through parliament, as there are equal reasons for and against a ban, as well as an equal number of protestors. Businesses in particular are likely to complain because it exposes them and their customers to increased risk of malicious attacks.
Government debates aside, a VPN ban is logistically difficult to enforce. While it’s true that governments can ban some VPN software, a good quality VPN is almost undetectable which makes it impossible to block. As soon as one server is blocked the user can simply switch to another and carry on as they were. There is a wealth of simple methods to evade a VPN block. In addition to this, very few VPN companies are based in the UK and therefore aren’t subject to UK law.
Will the UK Ban VPN Services?
In practice, it’s highly unlikely that the UK government be able to get a ban through parliament. While there are several compelling reasons to implement a ban, there are also a lot of legitimate reasons for wanting to protect yourself or a company by using the software. Add that to the number of protestors that the government would expect to see arguing to save VPN tools and it’s unlikely that the ban would ever make it out of the debate stage. Of course, you can never say never and it is impossible to say what the future of technology such as VPNs holds. That said, technology is an ever-changing industry and should VPNs ever be banned it’s likely that someone will come up with a new way to browse the internet anonymously, and the quest to get this banned would start.
On top of this, you have the issue that banning VPN services in the UK would be a long process, made more complicated by the international nature of the internet and the fact that people can access goods and services from all over the world. Would a ban on UK VPNs mean that people will be able to use loopholes to get around this and use VPNs based in other countries? That remains to be seen but it does raise a number of questions as to how it would all work if it was ever bought into play – which leaves many believing that a blanket ban on VPNs in the UK is a long way off, if it ever happens.