Jul 29, 2025 6:30 AM

Age Verification Laws Send VPN Use Soaring—and Threaten the Open Internet

A law requiring UK internet users to verify their age to access adult content has led to a huge surge in VPN downloads—and has experts worried about the future of free expression online.

Illustration: Getty Images

After the United Kingdom’s Online Safety Act went into effect on Friday, requiring porn platforms and other adult content sites to implement user age verification mechanisms, use of virtual private networks (VPNs) and other circumvention tools spiked in the UK over the weekend.

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Lily Hay Newman is a senior writer at WIRED focused on information security, digital privacy, and hacking. She previously worked as a technology reporter at Slate, and was the staff writer for Future Tense, a publication and partnership between Slate, the New America Foundation, and Arizona State University. Her work ... Read More

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Matt Burgess is a senior writer at WIRED focused on information security, privacy, and data regulation in Europe. He graduated from the University of Sheffield with a degree in journalism and now lives in London. Send tips to Matt_Burgess@wired.com. ... Read More

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