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Age Verification Laws Send VPN Use Soaring—and Threaten the Open Internet
A law requiring UK internet users to verify their age to access adult content has led to a huge surge in VPN downloads—and has experts worried about the future of free expression online.
After the United Kingdom’s Online Safety Act went into effect on Friday, requiring porn platforms and other adult content sites to implement user age verification mechanisms, use of virtual private networks (VPNs) and other circumvention tools spiked in the UK over the weekend. But as a new wave of age check regulations debuts, open internet advocates warn that the uptick in use of circumvention tools in the UK is the latest example of how an escalating cat-and-mouse game can develop between people looking to anonymously access services online and governments seeking to enforce content restrictions. People living under repressive governments that impose extensive internet censorship—like China, Russia, and Iran—have long relied on circumvention tools like VPNs and other technologies to maintain anonymity and access blocked content.
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