Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will make an estimate of the number and proportion of (a) children and (b) adults who access the internet through a virtual private network.

The Government does not hold this information. However, Ofcom’s Technology Tracker (2024) indicates that 30% of the UK’s population over 16 years old has connected to the internet using a virtual private network (VPN) for work, education or other purposes. This increases to 38% for 16-17 year olds. This data does not demonstrate how regularly respondents use VPNs to access the internet.