Overview

• The Age Verification Providers Association reports about five million checks each day, storing user IDs on platforms like Dropbox and Microsoft Teams before deleting them
• VPN Guild data show UK VPN sign-ups jumped over 1,000% after the age-verification rules took effect and remain at record levels
• Security experts warn that gathering passports, selfies and bank details exposes users to breaches, as highlighted by the hack of the Tea verification service
• Digital rights groups and the Wikimedia Foundation are mounting court cases and parliamentary petitions to overturn or revise the law, citing risks to free knowledge and expression
• Investigations by Byline Times and others reveal political and humanitarian material—from protest footage to health forums—is being over-gated under broad “harmful content” definitions