What is a VPN and how does it work in Australia?

Australian Community Media

As Australia introduces the world’s first social media ban for under-16s, many parents have started hearing one term pop up again and again for teens determined to stay online: VPNs. This video includes ACM-produced voiceover powered by AI.

Transcript

00:00Hey guys, just going to let you know my thoughts on the social media ban as an adult and as a

00:05parent. I think it's absolutely ridiculous. I do not like it at all. As Australia introduces

00:13the world's first social media ban for under-16s, many parents have started hearing one term pop

00:19up again and again for teens determined to stay online. VPNs. As some of you may know,

00:26there's a ban for under-16s in Australia for social media. Teenagers are losing a vital

00:31communication tool and you're celebrating. How insensitive is that? I needed a laugh guys.

00:38Honestly, watching this like social media ban for 16 and under is one of the funniest things I think

00:43I've ever seen. Like I do not care. I think 16 and under for social media ban is a beautiful idea.

00:48When I was 16 years old, I wish I didn't have social media. A VPN or virtual private network

00:54is a service internet users can employ to protect their online data by routing their IP or internet

01:02address through servers in another country. Turning on a VPN encrypts a user's online activity,

01:09essentially making it appear as though they're browsing from a different location.

01:14This means users can potentially open apps and websites that may be censored in their country.

01:19So for example, right here in Express VPN, I'm connected up to New York. And that means that

01:25even if I was physically in Australia, when I go to the internet, it would seem as if I'm in the

01:30United States. So automatically I wouldn't have to deal with the Australian social media ban

01:34because the websites that I visit, the social media platforms are going to think that I'm in the US.

01:39That workaround is raising concerns as Australia moves ahead with the social media ban,

01:45especially since many of these services, including ProtonVPN, NordVPN, and Surfshark are either free

01:53or relatively low cost. VPNs channel internet traffic through a secure private tunnel,

02:02preventing outsiders from tracking where a user goes online.

02:06This is about putting the burden back on the platforms themselves. I don't think it's going to

02:11happen overnight. And that's why I think it's so important to set these expectations and that

02:16that parents have a role in sitting down now that this normative change is coming. And when it is,

02:21when it is in place, they can target all of us with deadly precision when it comes to advertising.

02:27They can do the same with age. They just haven't had to until this date.

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