The Unintended Fallout of the Online Safety Act.

After the UK’s Online Safety Act age-assurance rules took effect on 25 July 2025, Proton reported UK sign-ups up 1400–1800%, VPNs dominated UK app charts, and roughly two million VPN downloads followed as adults sought to avoid face scans or ID uploads.

A June 2026 arXiv study (Edinburgh, Newcastle, Durham) traced stepwise rises in VPN discussion and searches tied to the Act’s enforcement phases, finding users framed VPNs as privacy protection against outsourced age-verification intermediaries.

The shift carries hidden harms: many free VPNs share or leak data, swapping regulated age-check vendors for opaque third parties, while teenagers can use VPNs to bypass gates and route their digital lives through risky apps.

The fallout included over-blocking, a 500k+ repeal petition and debate, legal challenges, Ofcom fines and reports showing expanded age-check use, and calls for privacy-preserving cryptographic age checks.