VPN downloads surge in Australia after age checks hit porn sites, online games, and social media

In context: In an entirely unsurprising turn of events, VPN downloads have spiked in Australia after the country rolled out new age-verification rules on Monday. Following a similar law that affects social media platforms, Australians are now also required to verify their age when playing R18+ online games (including GTA Online), pornography websites, explicit chatbots, and other services.

Following the introduction of the new online safety codes, VPN apps have shot up the Australian free iPhone app chart. VPN Super Unlimited Proxy moved from 40th place to 7th, Proton VPN moved from 174th to 19th, and NordVPN went from 189th to 13th, according to Sensor Tower data.

Several of the world's largest porn sites, including RedTube, YouPorn, and Tube8, have posted messages on their sites for users with Australian IPs. These messages state that the platforms are currently not accepting new account registrations in Australia.

The Guardian reports that ...