ACT will stop any proposed VPN ban

"ACT will prevent any ban on VPNs," says ACT Leader David Seymour.

"The Government is united in condemning China’s missile launch, and to be consistent it’s critical we don’t adopt Chinese-style intrusions into internet privacy.

"Speculation over a VPN ban exposes the problem with well-intentioned efforts to protect children from harm.

“Any ban strong enough to stop a motivated teenager is strong enough to violate all of our privacy. On the other hand, motivated teenagers will skirt anything weaker in an instant. The Australians have found this, with 80 per cent of teens ignoring the ban.

"If a teenager can bypass a social media ban with a VPN, then the ban isn't effective. If the Government responds by restricting VPNs, it is no longer regulating children's access to social media, it is regulating how every New Zealander uses the internet.

"VPNs are legitimate privacy and security tools. Businesses use them to protect commercial information. Journalists use them to protect sources. Ordinary New Zealanders use them to secure their personal information on public Wi-Fi. They are an essential part of modern cybersecurity.

"ACT was very clear on this point when we filed our differing view on the social media inquiry: 'The countries that have placed restrictions on VPNs include North Korea, China, Russia, Turkmenistan, and Iran. These countries use these restrictions to suppress their citizens' free speech, often in the name of protecting from online harm.'

"New Zealand should not be borrowing ideas from the authoritarian internet playbook. We should be defending the values that separate free countries from controlled ones.

"Social media harms for children are real, but any response must work for adults too. If making a ban work requires controlling the privacy tools used by ordinary people, then it's time admit the policy doesn't work and pursue better solutions."