UK Online Safety Act Spurs VPN Surge, US Digital Regulators Watch

The UK has implemented the Online Safety Act (OSA), aimed at protecting children online by requiring strict age verification and content moderation on platforms, including social media and adult websites. However, the law’s stringent age verification measures, such as facial recognition and ID scans, have raised significant privacy concerns among adults and led to widespread circumvention efforts using VPNs, with a surge in VPN app downloads immediately after the law took effect. Many online services have altered or restricted access for UK users, with some shutting down entirely due to fears of liability, and others enforcing sensitive content filters by default. The law has sparked public backlash, evidenced by over half a million signatures on a petition calling for its repeal, and will be debated in Parliament. Critics point out the law’s unintended consequences, such as blocking access to legitimate content including art, political speeches, and historical information, while supporters emphasize the need to protect children from harmful content. The UK experience with OSA is being closely watched by U.S. policymakers as a cautionary example in debates over similar digital content regulation and age verification measures.