VPN use rises following Online Safety Act’s age verification controls

UK VPN traffic surged dramatically—up to nearly 20x—after the Online Safety Act’s age verification controls took effect, with measured increases of 1,327% to almost 2,000% over consecutive days. The report outlines OFCOM’s proposed verification methods (bank data, photo ID with facial recognition, mobile operator checks, credit card verification, email analysis, digital ID wallets, and selfie-based age estimation) and highlights privacy concerns, while noting the government’s stance of monitoring VPN use without banning it.