Petition · Ministry of Justice

Enshrine the right for citizens to live offline in UK law

Closed 286 signatures

What the petition asks

Enshrine the right to live and participate in society without the internet or digitally connected services into UK law. We believe banking, voting, tax, public transport, food, education, etc., should never require ownership of a mobile phone or any digital devices.
We want the provision of analogue alternatives, such as counter service, to be required under this law.

The trend is clear: we feel we are extremely close to UK citizens being forced to own a connected device, regardless of whether they wish to be online or whether they can afford it. This could discriminate against the homeless, the elderly, the lesser educated and anybody who may not wish to own or carry a device. It could also accelerate the loss of human interaction. We believe it represents dangerous tech dependency too, with no analogue backup in the event of power/network failure or cyberattacks.

Timeline

15 Jan 2026 Petition opened for signatures
15 Jul 2026 Closed to new signatures

Key facts

Signatures 286
Status Closed
Department Ministry of Justice
Opened 15 Jan 2026
Closed 15 Jul 2026

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 6 Aug 2026.