Proton VPN has become the most downloaded free app Great Britain, since British have to avoid a new law, according to which users have to check their age before accessing websites in which adults are hosted.
Proton VPN reported an astonishing increase in 1,400% in Great Britain almost immediately after the online security law came into force. According to Apple's App Store rankings, it is now the most downloaded free app of the UK.
The virtual private network (VPN) based in Switzerland said in A Post on X The fact that interest increases was “maintained”. This is in contrast to the latest short -term spikes, for example when people in France lost access to adult locations such as Pornhub and Redtube last month due to new laws.
The increase in downloads follows the introduction of the online security law to the British government, which came into force after midnight on Friday, July 25th. The law requires websites such as Pornhub, Reddit and Tiktok to implement strict age review measures, including uploading an official ID or the use of third -party identity.
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The law is an attempt to protect minors from online access to harmful or adult content. However, VPNs offer a relatively easy way to bypass the new law. By masking the location of a user, you can look as if internet users from outside of Great Britain access the web, where the new law is not correct.
OFCOM, the British communication regulatory authority, has warned against using VPNs to avoid the new rules. In the meantime, Katie Freeman-Tayler from the Child Safety Group Internet Matters expressed concerns about how easily children can access VPNs.
“This makes it easier for you to bypass important protective measures as part of the online security law, e.g. The BBC.
Proton is not the only company that benefits from the new law. Of the ten best free apps in the British ranking of Apple, there are six VPN services. These include Yoti, NordVPN and Free VPN.
“We would normally connect these large spikes to register with large civil makers,” said Proton in an explanation. “This clearly shows that adults are concerned about the effects of universal age review laws on their privacy.”
Proton and other technology companies have before criticized Aspects of the online security law, warning The law could undermine the privacy of the users by force companies to scan private messages or break end-to-end encryption.
Criticism also came from political quarters. Nigel Farage, Chairman of the Reform of the Rights Political Party in Great Britain, pledged This week to cancel the rules, the name “authoritarian” and a threat to freedom of speech. A separate petition In order to abolish the online security law, over 350,000 signatures collected and triggered a parliamentary review.
The growing demand for VPNS has now triggered fears that the government could ban the services. However, security experts have played down the concerns. “Great Britain will not ban VPNS”, Jake Moore, Global Cyber Security Advisor of the Slovak software company ESET, said on X. “It would be almost impossible and would disturb the legitimate use dramatically.”
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