- Italy to impose mandatory age verification on November 12, 2025
- Websites with adult-only content must prove that their users are at least 18 years old.
- These websites are prohibited from promoting VPNs to bypass age controls
In less than 24 hours, Italians will be forced to prove that they are at least 18 years old every time they want to access websites containing adult content.
Italy joins France, the UK and several US states in imposing mandatory age verification in a bid to protect minors from harmful online content.
The country’s communications authority, AGCOM, says its system has been built on a “double anonymity” model to protect people’s privacy. However, age controls have raised concerns among privacy-conscious users around the world and often led to a surge in demand for the best VPN apps.
VPNs and other circumvention tools have become a quick way to get around new rules, sparking debates about whether governments should block VPNs altogether.
In the UK, communications regulator Ofcom confirmed to TechRadar that it is actively monitoring VPN usage with an anonymous third-party tool. Meanwhile, two US states, Wisconsin and Michigan, are considering introducing a requirement to block VPN traffic.
There are currently no restrictions on using a VPN to bypass Italy’s age verification law and it appears that some have already started researching the safest VPNs in preparation for age checks.
However, websites are required to verify the age of users and are also prohibited from promoting VPNs as a way to bypass age controls.
How Italy’s age verification rules affect VPN use
Under AGCOM provisions, the only obligation regarding VPNs applies to all “entities required by law to implement the age verification system.” Simply put, websites that display adult-only content.
The list of websites, which AGCOM is expected to continue to expand, “must not promote or reference any mechanism to circumvent age guarantee systems.”
All of this means that Italians won’t be prevented from accessing adult websites when using a VPN, at least for now.
If you are looking to get a new VPN app, we highly recommend that you stay away from dangerous free VPNs and only download apps that have been thoroughly reviewed and tested.
There are a handful of free VPN apps we recommend using, including Proton VPN Free and PrivadoVPN Free, but some great premium services have already dropped their prices with these limited-time Black Friday VPN deals.
We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Access a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protect your online security and strengthen your online privacy when you are abroad. We do not support or condone using a VPN service to break the law or conduct illegal activities. Future Publishing does not endorse or approve the consumption of paid pirated content.
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