Under the rules of the UK’s Online Safety Act, websites with adult or sensitive content operating in the UK must now take comprehensive steps to verify the ages of their users.
It’s a law that has sparked fierce debate between opponents and backers of the legislation, and so far much of the focus of this part of the act has been on pornography sites.
However, it also covers websites and social media platforms dealing with issues such as suicide, self harm, and eating disorders, which the UK government wants to protect young people from.
While the Online Safety Act was passed back in 2023, the part relating to age verification didn’t come into force until July 25, 2025. That has now triggered a renewed interest in VPN software from some people in the UK, and strong calls to have the act repealed.
At the time of writing, more than 460,000 people have signed a petition calling on the UK government to ditch at least some sections of the act – passing the 100,000 signatory mark that triggers a parliamentary debate.
So why are so many people so opposed to this piece of legislation? Here are five of the main reasons.
1. Free speech and censorship
Many campaigners have said the new age verification checks impinge on the right to free speech, and could even be considered censorship – essentially the UK government deciding what its citizens can and can’t view on the internet. Politically charged content covering topics such as immigration have already been affected by the new rules.
Some site owners are adopting an extremely cautious approach to being caught out – like this cycling forumfor example – which means the safety net is becoming much bigger than it was intended to be.
Some critics, like the Open Rights Groupargue we could get to a stage where individual posts and even private messages are being monitored to check for any breaches of the terms of the Online Safety Act.
2. Overly broad
There’s been a lot of focus on porn sites in regard to this legislation, but many other parts of the internet and the digital landscape are being affected, too.
The Xbox platform is rolling out its own age verification system, for example, which means all gamers are going to have to prove they’re as old as they say they are (and hand over more personal data to do so).
Various Reddit boards with the NSFW tag are also being hit. These boards offer support for problems with drinking, smoking, and sexual assault – sensitive and grown-up topics for sure, but also online places where under-18s might go for help and advice.
Now these spaces and others like them are no longer (officially) accessible without an age check.
3. Data privacy
Many users are keen to avoid having the government or anyone else snooping on their online activity – and when that activity includes adult content, even more so. Cybersecurity experts have warned that hackers could get hold of data linking people to porn sites, for example, or that registered credit card details might be compromised.
There’s also the possibility of fake adult content sites being set up – if online age verification checks become the norm, users are going to get accustomed to sharing bank information or various forms of ID before being allowed access.
It wouldn’t be much work for a scammer to build a site to harvest this kind of information, the argument goes.
4. Surveillance and mission creep
For the time being, the UK Online Safety Act doesn’t give the government permission to spy on your encrypted messages – but it’s something the backers of the legislation have been pushing for. Again, the argument is that breaking encryption in apps such as WhatsApp would help to catch criminals and adults who are intending to harm children.
It’s a debate that’s been going back and forth for years: encryption backdoors make it easier to spy on criminals, but also make it easier for criminals to spy on the rest of us, and the authorities to spy on everyone. The UK government is still looking at ways of making this feasible, which is another reason why some people want the Online Safety Act repealed.
5. Ineffective implementation
The main purpose of age verification is to stop under-18s from accessing potentially harmful content, which would otherwise only take a couple of clicks. However, considering these safeguards are easily bypassed with VPNs – a piece of software most kids will be savvy enough to use – it does raise questions about how much difference it’s making.
There are also concerns that putting blocks on bigger, more high profile sites – which have certain guidelines about what can and can’t be shown, and the resources to add age verification – will drive children towards corners of the internet that are less well known and well regulated, and ultimately expose them to material that’s even more extreme.
Why have VPNs seen a spike in popularity?
The UK’s regulator for enforcing the new age verification requirements, Ofcom, has naturally advised against using a VPN as a workaround.
In a statement to the BBCit confirmed that it will be illegal for platforms to “host, share or permit content encouraging the use of VPNs to get around age checks”.
However, that hasn’t stopped free VPNs from spiking in popularity on Apple’s UK App Store. One of the best VPNs right now, Proton VPN, told us earlier this week that it had seen an hourly increase of sign-ups of over 1,400% from the date that age verification checks were mandated.
VPNs encrypt your internet traffic to help boost your security and privacy, and there are a huge number to choose from. Whether you’re looking to access streaming services all around the world or protect your data when using public Wi-Fi, you can see today’s top deals on our favorite VPNs below.
