VPN demand erupts in UK — outpacing France in the face of adult content rules

Last Friday, the UK's Online Safety Act went into effect, requiring websites and social media platforms to prevent children from accessing "adult" content. Following the enactment of the law, VPN usage spiked in the UK.

The rapid increase in VPN demand was known to some extent in the immediate aftermath of the Online Safety Act going into effect. Proton VPN observed a 1400% hourly increase in sign-ups and Google searches for "Proton" increased 100-fold on July 25.

Now, thanks to figures from vpnMentor, we have more insight regarding VPN usage in the UK.

According the the researchers at vpnMentor, demand for VPN services in the UK increased steadily following the Online Safety Act going into effect. Demand peaked at 6,430% and remained at that level for nearly two hours.

While that demand decreased over the weekend, there were spikes between 900% and 4,000%.

Five different VPN providers are now among the 10 most downloaded apps through Apple's App Store. ProtonVPN sits in the number one spot with NordVPN, placing two of the best VPNs in the top 10. A few lesser-known services are also on the list.

Bypassing Online Safety Act

The new legislation in the UK has proven controversial. Some, including Elon Musk, called the Online Safety Act a "suppression of free speech." X has had its own issues verifying the age of users, but Musk says those are being worked on.

Many have been hesitant to share personal information to view online content. In a best case scenario, the face scans or pictures of IDs shared to verify age are secure. It appears some users fear a worst case scenario in which selfies, photos of ID, credit card details, or other sensitive information gets exposed.

People have found various methods of bypassing age verification systems, ranging from finding a generic driver's license online to using the photo mode of the video game Death Stranding.

Bypass methods vary in success rate depending on the specific system a website uses. For example, Discord's k-ID system was fooled by the image from Death Stranding.

Yoti is a third-party age-verification software used by Instagram, OnlyFans, and many other websites. It is now one of the most downloaded apps in the UK, likely due to so many sites relying on it for age verification.

While many dislike the legislation, companies need to take it seriously. Penalties for violating the Online Safety Act can include fines of up to £18m or 10% of global turnover. For a larger company, that could potentially mean billions of pounds in fines.

UK vs France

An interesting bit of information to come out of this saga is that people in the UK seem quicker to jump to VPN usage when faced with blocked content.

“Unlike previous surges, this one is sustained, and is significantly higher than when France lost access to adult content," said Proton VPN.

vpnMentor has tracked surges that occurred in similar situations, such as when France saw an 874% surge in demand after Pornhub and other pornographic websites owned by Aylo were blocked in the country. That pullout of services was done in response to age verification laws in France.

Without more information, it's difficult to determine why VPN services would see a larger spike in the UK than in France. It could be due to which sites were blocked or it could suggest which types of content are popular in the UK.