"VPNs are Next on My List" – France Eyes VPN Crackdown After Social Media Ban

Last week, France's National Assembly voted to ban social media for anyone under 15. Three days later, Anne Le Hénanff, the country's Minister Delegate for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Affairs, appeared on Franceinfo, clearly announcing, "VPNs are the next topic on my list."

The backlash was swift. By February 2nd, a government spokesperson was already clarifying that there's "obviously" no plan to ban VPNs outright. But whether it’s about banning or regulating, one thing is clear: France is not about to stop at the social media ban, and it likely will not stop at VPNs either, regardless of how poorly these methods perform in terms of protecting children.

The VPN Problem France is Trying to "Fix"

In its essence, Le Hénanff's concern is simple. There’s nothing really stopping French teenagers from using a VPN to bypass the ban. So, by that logic, it makes sense to heavily regulate VPNs so that they don’t, right?

Her argument is that most 8.5-year-olds (the average age for first social media accounts) won't know what VPNs are. So if the ban protects 65-70% of children, that's good enough. And just like that, this “foolproof” logic starts to fall apart.

The ones who wouldn't have been on social media much anyway get counted as "saved" by legislation that didn't change their behavior, adding to that pretty number, marking it as "proof" that the law works, while in reality, it does nothing, as usual.

And yet, this ignores that the kids most at risk are exactly the ones who'll find workarounds. You can’t seriously hope that once you put regulations on one workaround, they won’t find another just as easily. Because they will.

Moreover, targeting VPNs to stop kids from bypassing age checks punishes everyone doing legitimate privacy work. Journalists protecting sources, activists avoiding surveillance, and remote workers securing public Wi-Fi connections all become collateral damage.

Sure, they’ll still be able to use VPNs, only now they’ll have to upload their ID to do so. This kind of takes away the “private” part from the virtual private network, don’t you think? And more often than not, that is the key element of this technology.

What the Government Backtrack Actually Means

After the outcry, Le Hénanff's team clarified there's no plan for an outright VPN ban. VPNs serve "many perfectly legitimate uses," they said. And yet, they didn't rule out age verification requirements for VPN providers. They didn't promise to leave consumer VPNs alone. They didn't commit to anything except "We're not doing a total ban right now."

Why can’t we, for once, turn to methods that actually have a solid chance of working instead of just making things worse? Parental control tools, media literacy education, and holding platforms accountable for predatory algorithms, anyone?

Of course, legitimate solutions require serious effort and admitting that tech companies share responsibility. But slapping on bans and calling it a day is much easier. So instead, we get "think of the children" rhetoric leading to surveillance infrastructure that stays in place long after everyone stops pretending it's about protecting kids.

China blocks about 73% of VPN connection attempts. Russia banned VPNs that don't comply with government censorship. Iran cracks down during civil unrest. These countries didn't flip a switch labeled "authoritarian internet controls" overnight – they got there through incremental steps, each justified by protecting citizens.

France isn't China. But when a democratic government starts eyeing the same playbook, it's worth asking where that path leads. The door isn't closed on VPN restrictions. It's just been left ajar, waiting to see how much pushback there'll be.