Mozilla to UK regulators: VPNs are essential privacy and security tools

Mozilla 致信英国监管机构：VPN 是至关重要的隐私与安全工具

In the context of concerns around young people’s interactions with digital technologies, the UK’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is consulting on additional measures to prepare young people for growing up in a digital world. 鉴于对年轻人接触数字技术的担忧，英国科学、创新和技术部（Department for Science, Innovation and Technology）目前正在就相关额外措施进行咨询，旨在帮助年轻人更好地适应数字世界的成长环境。

Before the backdrop of users circumventing age assurance systems mandated under the UK’s Online Safety Act, the consultation considers age-gating virtual private networks (VPNs). 在用户规避英国《在线安全法案》（Online Safety Act）所强制要求的年龄验证系统的背景下，此次咨询考虑对虚拟专用网络（VPN）实施年龄限制。

Mozilla’s mission is grounded in the belief that the internet must remain open and accessible to all, and that privacy and security online are fundamental human rights. Mozilla 的使命基于这样一种信念：互联网必须保持开放并惠及所有人，且在线隐私与安全是基本人权。

We recognize that the protection of young people online is one of the most pressing and challenging questions of our time, and we are committed to supporting policy proposals that address the root causes of online harms. 我们认识到，保护青少年在线安全是当今时代最紧迫且最具挑战性的议题之一，我们致力于支持那些能够解决在线伤害根源的政策提案。

We are concerned, however, that blunt interventions like mandatory age assurance and restricting access to tools like VPNs are not effective in improving the protection afforded to young people online, while undermining the fundamental rights of all users. 然而，我们担心，强制年龄验证和限制 VPN 等工具的使用这类生硬的干预措施，不仅无法有效提升对青少年的在线保护，反而会损害所有用户的基本权利。

VPNs serve as critical privacy and security tools for users across all ages. By hiding users’ IP addresses, VPNs help protect users’ location, reduce tracking and avoid IP-based profiling. VPN 是各年龄段用户至关重要的隐私与安全工具。通过隐藏用户的 IP 地址，VPN 有助于保护用户的位置信息，减少追踪，并避免基于 IP 的画像分析。

People use VPNs for lots of different reasons: to connect to their school’s or employer’s network remotely, to avoid censorship or to simply protect their privacy and security online. 人们使用 VPN 的原因多种多样：远程连接学校或雇主的网络、规避审查，或者仅仅是为了保护在线隐私与安全。

While being able to access VPNs is especially important for vulnerable groups like activists, dissidents or journalists, VPNs improve everyone’s baseline protection online. 虽然能够使用 VPN 对活动人士、异见人士或记者等弱势群体尤为重要，但 VPN 实际上提升了所有人的在线基础防护水平。

Young people are particularly vulnerable to online tracking, targeted advertising, and the risks that flow from personal data being collected and processed for commercial purposes without adequate consent or transparency. 青少年特别容易受到在线追踪、定向广告以及因个人数据在缺乏充分同意或透明度的情况下被商业收集和处理所带来的风险的影响。

In a world in which young people are interacting with digital technologies as part of their realities from young ages onward, restricting young people’s access to privacy-protecting technologies is in tension with the goal of equipping them to navigate the internet safely and competently. 在一个青少年从小就将数字技术作为现实生活一部分的世界里，限制他们使用隐私保护技术，与帮助他们安全、熟练地驾驭互联网的目标是相悖的。

In order to be able to develop agency and responsible habits in engaging with digital technologies, it is crucial for young people to be introduced to best practices and key safety and privacy tools as they engage with the online world. 为了在接触数字技术时培养自主权和负责任的习惯，青少年在进入在线世界时，必须了解最佳实践以及关键的安全与隐私工具。

Rather than age-gating technologies like VPNs, we believe that regulators should address the root causes of online harm by holding platforms to account, encouraging the responsible use of parental controls and investing in digital skills and a whole of society approach to digital wellbeing. 我们认为，监管机构不应通过年龄限制来管控 VPN 等技术，而应通过追究平台责任、鼓励负责任地使用家长控制功能，以及投资于数字技能和采取全社会参与的数字福祉方案，来解决在线伤害的根源。

Read our full submission to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. 阅读我们提交给英国科学、创新和技术部的完整意见书。