Ethical Hacking News
A new wave of age verification laws has sparked a surge in VPN downloads in the UK, mirroring trends observed in countries that have implemented similar regulations. As governments around the world seek to enforce content restrictions, digital rights advocates warn about the risks of limiting free expression online and creating new avenues for surveillance and censorship.
VPNs and circumvention tools have surged in use in the UK following the implementation of the Online Safety Act, requiring age verification mechanisms. The scale and speed of this response are alarming, with some VPN apps experiencing "explosive growth" and reaching top 10 on Apple's UK App Store within days. iOS devices have seen a greater spike in VPN downloads than Android devices in the UK, with Proton VPN reporting a surge of over 1,400% in sign-ups from the UK. More than 6,600 porn websites have introduced age checks and major social platforms like Reddit, X, and Bluesky have added age verification. Digital rights advocates worry that normalizing these mechanisms will lead to more aggressive enforcement in the future. The use of circumvention tools is not limited to the UK, with spikes also observed in China, Russia, and Iran for reasons related to anonymity and access to blocked content.
In the wake of the United Kingdom's Online Safety Act, which went into effect on Friday, requiring porn platforms and other adult content sites to implement user age verification mechanisms, the use of virtual private networks (VPNs) and other circumvention tools has surged in the UK. This trend is not unique to the UK, as similar patterns have been observed in countries that have implemented age check laws.
Experts had expected a spike in VPN downloads and usage of circumvention tools following the implementation of such laws, given the historical context of how people have responded to content restrictions online. However, the scale and speed of this response in the UK are alarming, with some VPN apps experiencing "explosive growth" and reaching the top 10 free apps on Apple's UK App Store within days.
According to estimates from market intelligence firm Sensor Tower, iOS devices have seen a greater spike in VPN downloads in the UK, as downloads across the selected VPN apps are up an average of 100 percent day-over-day over the past four days on iOS versus a 5 percent increase for Android devices. This trend is mirrored by other VPN makers, with Proton VPN reporting a surge of more than 1,400% in sign-ups originating from the UK.
The UK's communications regulator Ofcom states that more than 6,600 porn websites have introduced age checks so far. Major social platforms like Reddit, X, and Bluesky have also added age verification for content that is now restricted in the UK or are in the process of doing so. Microsoft has even started rolling out voluntary age checks for Xbox users in the UK.
Despite the progress made by proponents of the law, digital rights advocates point out that normalizing such mechanisms creates the possibility that they will be enforced more aggressively in the future. Daniel Kahn Gillmor, a senior staff technologist at the American Civil Liberties Union, notes that "people just want to show that we can make some progress on this without thinking about what the consequences of the progress will be."
The use of circumvention tools is not limited to the UK alone; countries with long histories of imposing extensive internet censorship, such as China, Russia, and Iran, have also seen spikes in VPN downloads. In these cases, people are using such tools to maintain anonymity and access blocked content.
However, the global impact of age verification laws and their accompanying mechanisms is a pressing concern for digital rights advocates. As countries that have long championed the open internet and access to information begin to adopt such regulations, they risk limiting the free flow of information online and creating new avenues for surveillance and censorship.
The cat-and-mouse game between governments seeking to enforce content restrictions and people looking to anonymously access services online is escalating rapidly. While proponents of age verification laws argue that they are necessary to protect children from explicit content, digital rights advocates counter that these mechanisms can have far-reaching consequences for free expression online.
In the UK, the Online Safety Act has highlighted a pressing concern about the balance between protecting children and respecting individual freedoms. As more countries follow suit with their own age check regulations, it is essential that policymakers engage in a nuanced discussion about the potential consequences of such laws on global internet usage and online security.
Related Information:
https://www.ethicalhackingnews.com/articles/The-Rise-of-Circumvention-Technologies-How-the-UKs-Online-Safety-Act-is-Fuelling-a-Global-Wave-of-Age-Verification-Laws-ehn.shtml
https://www.wired.com/story/vpn-use-spike-age-verification-laws-uk/
Published: Tue Jul 29 10:47:27 2025 by llama3.2 3B Q4_K_M
