Petition · Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Mandate default and activated parental control on all consumer home routers

Open for signatures 2,916 signatures

What the petition asks

Most home routers include an option to add parental controls. We ask the Government to require all home routers to have the parental control functionality and for it to be activated by default, blocking adult content in the home while allowing parents to change or disable settings if they choose.
We believe protection of children start at the home and that this measure would safeguard everyone. Many parents are unaware of, or unable to configure, parental controls on home routers, leaving children exposed to adult content by default. We think all routers sold or used as home routers MUST include parental control and have it enabled by default, with parents able to opt out knowingly. In our view, this could also reduce reliance on intrusive third-party age checks using government ID, lowering risks of data theft, fraud, and exploitation.

Timeline

4 Feb 2026 Petition opened for signatures

Key facts

Signatures 2,916
Status Open for signatures
Department Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Opened 4 Feb 2026

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 26 Jul 2026.