Overview

• The Online Safety Act took effect on July 25, requiring adult sites and major social platforms to verify users’ ages via ID uploads or biometric checks.
• VPN apps now occupy half of the top ten free slots in the UK’s Apple App Store and rank among the most downloaded on Google Play since the law’s rollout.
• Proton VPN recorded an 1,800% increase in weekend signups following the implementation, highlighting a spike in both free and paid subscriptions.
• Ofcom told the BBC that promoting VPNs as a means to bypass age checks breaches regulations and warned it could sanction non-compliant platforms.
• Privacy experts caution that many free VPNs log user data and lack strong encryption, and over 420,000 people have signed a petition to repeal the Online Safety Act.