VPN use surges in UK as new online safety rules kick in

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Predictable outcome and “slippery slope” worries

  • Many see the VPN surge as entirely predictable once the Online Safety Act required age verification for “harmful” content (porn, self-harm, violence, etc.).
  • Strong fear that “harmful” will steadily expand (LGBT content, political speech, protest footage), with the porn gap-filler simply being the first use-case.
  • Several commenters explicitly trace how Russia and (to a lesser extent) China went from narrow “protect the children” / “drugs, suicide, piracy” blocks to broad political censorship via the same logic.

Circumvention: VPNs, Tor, and technical limits

  • People report VPN and Tor currently bypass UK blocks; Tor works but UX is poor and social stigma is high.
  • Others note the “Streisand effect” is limited: many average users won’t bother with circumvention if there’s friction or cost.
  • Technically, ISPs and platforms can and do detect many VPN IP ranges; streaming services are cited as proof. Next step could be:
    • Blocking known VPN/Tor endpoints;
    • Forcing VPNs to age‑verify; or
    • Treating non‑residential IPs as suspicious by default.
  • Commenters familiar with China’s Great Firewall say it becomes a cat‑and‑mouse game of protocol obfuscation vs. DPI, with censored users constantly hunting for new tools.

From “protecting children” to speech control

  • A recurring view: this isn’t really about kids and porn, but about tying online activity to real identity and gaining leverage over speech.
  • Examples raised:
    • Discord, X, Reddit and others age‑gating UK users not just for porn, but for violence, some LGBT spaces, and politically sensitive material.
    • Protest and grooming‑gang videos on X being blocked or marked 18+ in the UK.
    • Existing UK laws on “grossly offensive” messages and “non‑crime hate incidents” already used against online posts and even offline protests.
  • Critics expect gradual normalization of digital ID, broader content takedowns, and growing self‑censorship by platforms “acting out of caution.”

Identity, security, and small‑site impact

  • Strong concern that mass ID + selfie collection by third‑party age‑check vendors will inevitably leak, supercharging identity theft. Some cite recent leaks from other verification apps as a preview.
  • Small forums and niche social networks face a dilemma: implement invasive age‑checks they can’t secure or afford, or block UK traffic entirely. Many expect more forums to geoblock the UK and retreat to big US platforms that can absorb compliance costs.

Public opinion, politics, and trajectories

  • Several argue the real problem isn’t technical but democratic: polls cited showing ~70–80% UK support for age‑verification “to protect children,” and little mainstream media outrage.
  • Others counter that a sizable minority is angry (VPN uptake, petitions to repeal the Act), but a “nanny‑state” culture plus tabloid fear campaigns make resistance weak.
  • Broader context appears repeatedly: post‑Brexit stagnation, rising surveillance (CCTV, online monitoring), dysfunctional party politics where both main parties back similar controls, and comparisons to an increasingly “managed decline” Britain.

Broader anxieties (immigration, social strain, authoritarian drift)

  • A long tangent connects this law to wider grievances: mass immigration, social fragmentation, crime, and loss of trust.
  • One camp sees these as drivers of an authoritarian response (speech policing, riot monitoring squads, online controls) rather than tackling root causes.
  • Others warn that using such grievances to justify censorship and hard‑right politics just repeats historical patterns of crisis → scapegoating → repression.