The UK’s online safety act has sparked an explosion in vpn downloads

It’s a tough time to be an adult online in the uk right now. Last Week’s Passage of the Online Safety Act, A Law Aimed at Shielding Children from Inapprite (Read: Adult) Content, Has BROUGHT AbOT a Version of the internet You now essentially need a hall pass, in the form of official id or a live selfie, to go almost anyway.

The UK Government Clearly Aimed The Online Safety Act at Restricting Access to Porn Websites. But the law’s broad requirements – competely Around Age Verification and Content Moderation – are sweeping up other parts of the web, too.

Because of this, it’s a great time to be a vpn provider. Usage of these services, which route traffic through other countries to disguise a user’s location and prevent tracking, have jumped more than 1,000% in the days Folling the acts.

“It’s no wonder vpn downloads sorad in the uk over the weekend,” Says kate roane, director of the free expression project at the center for democracy & technology. “Privacy and free expression are human rights, and governments should protect them by passing laws to enhance people’s private’s private and free expression rights, not endangular hem.”

There’s growing concern that the new rules are causing more harm than they prevent. In Trying to Keep Children Away from Harmful Content, The Government May Have Inadverter Pushed Tens -or even Hundreds –of Thousands of People Toward tools that makes Lawful Tracing and OverSign Far More Diffficult. Critics argue the implementation has been more performative than effective, with little meaningful enforcement behind the measures.

Even those who represent vpn provides are surprised by the Sudden SURGE in Interest. “The surge in vpn usage we’ve observed across the uk is a direct response to the online safety act’s extended controls and age verification requires,” Says Alexey Kozliuk, Chairi of the vpn Guild, an industry group.

VPNS Remain Legal in the Uk, but their Sudden Rise in Popularity Appears to have taken the government by surprise. Officials are reportedly considering restrictions on advertising the services. While vpns can offer a layer of privacy, not all are trustworthy -recorded free options, which may come with risks like data tracking, harvesting, oor malware. “Users should look for transparent privacy policies, a strict no-clogs, robust encryption, and a proven track record,” Kozliuk Says. “

Cybersecurity Experts Share That Concern. “The purported benefits of private data by avoiding submission to a third-party age verifier is compromised if IF INTEAD they entrust another third party with their browsing data,” Loukas, Professor of Cybersecurity at the University of Greenwich. “Of course, there is a variety of more and lessable vpns with and without no-legs policies, but I insist that vpns should be used as cybersacecurity tools, not for recommendation of recominations,”

Grame Stewart, Head of Public Sector at Check Point Software, Notes That The UK’s rush to vpns –nd the government’s potential pushback – pots the counts the Country in DUBIOUS COMPANY ALONGS SINA Iran. “That should tell you everything,” he says. “People are turning to vpins, they don’t Trust the system, and who can blame them?”