UK online safety law sparks massive VPN surge
VPN provider reports massive surge after age verification requirements take effect for adult content sites.
Proton VPN recorded a surge of more than 1,400% in UK signups within hours of the Online Safety Act taking effect on July 25, 2025, according to the company's announcement on social media. The spike represents a dramatic user response to new digital regulations requiring robust age verification for accessing adult content online.
The Online Safety Act 2023, which received Royal Assent on October 26, 2023, introduced sweeping changes to internet regulation in the UK. According to Ofcom's published statement on online safety fees and penalties, the legislation creates "a new regulatory framework which makes platforms with links to the United Kingdom – including social media, search, and pornography services – legally responsible for keeping people, especially children, safer online."
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Key provisions affecting adult content platforms became operational in stages throughout 2024 and 2025. According to government documentation, "platforms that publish their own pornographic content (known as Part 5 services) must take steps immediately to introduce robust age checks that meet Ofcom's guidance" after the corresponding duty came into force on January 17, 2025.
The age verification requirements specifically target what the legislation defines as "regulated provider pornographic content." Services must demonstrate they have implemented "robust age checks" to prevent children from accessing adult material. These measures represent some of the strongest protections designed for children under the new framework.
Proton VPN emphasized the sustained nature of this particular surge, noting it exceeded previous spikes including when France restricted access to adult content. "Unlike previous surges, this one is sustained, and is significantly higher than when France lost access to adult content," the company stated in its announcement.
The timing correlation between the VPN signup surge and the Online Safety Act's enforcement suggests users are seeking technical workarounds to avoid new verification requirements. VPN services allow users to mask their geographic location and appear to be browsing from different countries with varying regulatory frameworks.
According to Ofcom's statement, the Online Safety Act applies to services "even if the companies providing them are outside the UK should they have links to the UK." This includes services with "a significant number of UK users" or where "the UK is a target market." The legislation's extraterritorial reach means international platforms must comply with UK age verification standards when serving British users.
The regulatory framework operates on a phased implementation schedule. Government documentation indicates that duties about illegal content became fully operational by March 17, 2025, when Ofcom gained enforcement powers. Children's safety provisions followed, with the protection of children codes of practice laid in Parliament on April 24, 2025.
Ofcom possesses substantial enforcement powers under the new regime. According to the legal framework, "companies can be fined up to £18 million or 10 percent of their qualifying worldwide revenue, whichever is greater." The regulator can also pursue criminal action against senior managers who fail to comply with information requests.
In extreme cases, Ofcom can implement business disruption measures. The documentation states that "with the agreement of the courts, Ofcom will be able to require payment providers, advertisers and internet service providers to stop working with a site, preventing it from generating money or being accessed from the UK."
The VPN surge indicates user behavior patterns that have emerged globally when digital content restrictions are implemented. Similar spikes occurred when France implemented restrictions on major adult platforms, prompting users to seek technical circumvention methods.
The regulatory approach represents a significant shift in UK digital policy. Unlike previous voluntary industry initiatives, the Online Safety Act creates statutory duties with criminal penalties for non-compliance. The legislation requires platforms to implement proactive measures rather than reactive content moderation alone.
Age verification technology has become a contentious technical and privacy issue. Industry stakeholders have raised concerns about data protection implications, implementation costs, and the effectiveness of current verification methods. The surge in VPN usage suggests user resistance to providing personal identification for adult content access.
Proton VPN characterized the signup pattern as comparable to "major civil unrest" situations. The company noted that such dramatic increases typically occur during periods of internet censorship or significant privacy threats. This framing positions the Online Safety Act's implementation as a catalyst for user privacy concerns rather than simply content access issues.
The implementation timeline continues throughout 2025. Categorised services face additional transparency and accountability requirements, with Ofcom expected to publish a register of categorised services in summer 2025. Further codes of practice consultations are scheduled for early 2026.
UK users seeking to maintain access to adult content without age verification appear to be adopting VPN technology as their primary solution. This technical response creates potential enforcement challenges for regulators attempting to ensure compliance with territorial digital safety legislation.
The sustained nature of the VPN signup surge suggests this represents a permanent behavioral shift rather than temporary user curiosity. As implementation phases continue, similar patterns may emerge as additional platform categories face compliance requirements under the expanding regulatory framework.
Timeline
- October 26, 2023: Online Safety Act receives Royal Assent
- January 17, 2025: Age verification duties for Part 5 services take effect
- March 17, 2025: Ofcom gains full enforcement powers for illegal content duties
- April 24, 2025: Protection of children codes laid in Parliament
- July 24, 2025: Deadline for children's risk assessments
- July 25, 2025: Proton VPN reports 1,400% signup surge from UK users
- Summer 2025: Expected publication of categorised services register
Luis Rijo
Key Terms Explained
Online Safety Act The Online Safety Act 2023 represents the UK's comprehensive legislative framework for internet regulation, establishing statutory duties for platform providers to protect users from harmful content. The Act creates legally binding obligations for social media companies, search services, and pornography platforms with UK connections, marking a shift from voluntary industry standards to mandatory compliance requirements with criminal penalties for violations.
Age Verification Age verification refers to the technical and procedural mechanisms platforms must implement to prevent children from accessing adult content online. Under the Online Safety Act, these systems must meet robust standards defined by Ofcom, requiring platforms to verify users' ages through reliable methods before granting access to pornographic material, representing one of the Act's strongest child protection measures.
Proton VPN Proton VPN serves as the reporting entity for the dramatic user behavior shift following the Online Safety Act's implementation. As a privacy-focused virtual private network service provider, Proton VPN enables users to mask their geographic location and encrypt internet traffic, positioning itself as a tool for overcoming censorship and privacy threats while maintaining user anonymity online.
Ofcom Ofcom functions as the UK's independent communications regulator and the designated enforcement authority for the Online Safety Act. The organization possesses extensive powers including financial penalties up to £18 million or 10% of worldwide revenue, criminal prosecution capabilities for senior managers, and business disruption measures including payment processor restrictions for non-compliant platforms.
VPN Surge The VPN surge describes the 1,400% increase in UK-based signups to Proton VPN services immediately following the Online Safety Act's enforcement provisions taking effect. This sustained user behavior pattern differs from temporary spikes and suggests a permanent shift in how UK internet users approach content access when faced with mandatory verification requirements.
Adult Content Adult content encompasses pornographic material subject to the Online Safety Act's age verification requirements, specifically targeting what the legislation defines as "regulated provider pornographic content." Platforms publishing or displaying such content must implement robust age checks and comply with Ofcom's guidance to prevent children's access while maintaining service for verified adult users.
UK Users UK users represent the target demographic for Online Safety Act protections and the primary group affected by new verification requirements. The legislation applies extraterritorially, meaning international platforms serving UK audiences must comply with British regulations regardless of their operational base, creating compliance obligations based on user location rather than corporate jurisdiction.
Enforcement Powers Enforcement powers describe Ofcom's comprehensive regulatory toolkit for ensuring Online Safety Act compliance, including financial penalties, criminal prosecutions, and business disruption measures. These powers extend beyond traditional content moderation to include technical compliance verification, senior manager accountability, and systematic platform assessment capabilities designed to ensure proactive rather than reactive safety measures.
Platform Providers Platform providers encompass the broad category of online services subject to Online Safety Act obligations, including social media companies, search engines, file-sharing services, dating platforms, and pornography sites. These entities bear legal responsibility for implementing safety systems proportionate to their service type, user base, and harm risk levels under the new regulatory framework.
Regulatory Framework The regulatory framework represents the comprehensive system of duties, enforcement mechanisms, and compliance requirements established by the Online Safety Act. This structure operates through phased implementation, codes of practice, threshold conditions for different service categories, and escalating enforcement measures designed to create a proportionate but effective system for protecting UK internet users from online harms.
Summary
Who: Proton VPN reported the surge; UK internet users seeking to circumvent age verification requirements; platforms providing adult content subject to new regulations
What: A 1,400% increase in VPN signups from UK users following implementation of Online Safety Act age verification requirements for adult content platforms
When: July 25, 2025, coinciding with key enforcement provisions of the Online Safety Act taking effect
Where: United Kingdom, affecting both domestic and international platforms serving UK users
Why: Users appear to be using VPN services to bypass mandatory age verification requirements for accessing adult content, implemented under the UK's new digital safety legislation