Labour could ban the use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) in the UK after subscriptions skyrocketed to avoid the restrictions imposed by the Online Safety Act.
A VPN can reroute your device's internet traffic to a server in another country, making it appear as if you're currently located outside of the UK – bypassing the new Online Safety Act imposed by Labour.
Proton VPN became the UK's most-downloaded free app on Apple's App Store over the weekend with downloads up 1,800 per cent, while rival VPN provider NordVPN reported a 1,000 per cent spike in subscriptions from users in the UK. In total, half of all most-downloaded free apps in the Apple App Store are now VPNs.
Labour supported the move to ban the use of VPNs when the Online Safety Act was first moving through Parliament. Since July 25, the new rules are now in place across the UK, forcing millions of Britons to verify their age by scanning a credit card or passport.
Rotherham MP Sarah Champion previously launched a campaign against VPNs.
She said: "My new clause 54 would require the Secretary of State to publish, within six months of the Bill's passage, a report on the effect of VPN use on Ofcom's ability to enforce the requirements under clause 112. If VPNs cause significant issues, the Government must identify those issues and find solutions, rather than avoiding difficult problems."
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Champion was supported by the Labour frontbench, with the party saying it will amend the "gaps" in the bill.
Ex-Shadow Digital Minister Alex Davies-Jones said at the time that the clause "touches on the issue of future-proofing, which Labour has raised repeatedly in debates on the Bill".
Platforms are currently not able to promote VPNs under the new Act.
It follows fierce political opposition to the Act, with worries that it could censor free speech.
Backbencher Sarah Champion previously launched a campaign against VPNs
| HOUSE OF COMMONSReform UK's Zia Yusuf has declared Britain is "descending rapidly into some kind of dystopia".
The ex-Reform UK chairman, who now heads up its Doge unit, said the Online Safety Act "does absolutely nothing to protect children" and instead "suppresses freedom of speech".
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: "Two-tier Keir can't police the streets, so he's trying to police opinions instead. They're setting up a central team to monitor what you post, what you share, what you think, because deep down they know the public don't buy what they're selling."
Leader of Reform UK Nigel Farage brandished the move as the "beginning of the state controlling free speech".