Labour could ban the use of Virual Private Networks (VPNs) after purchases of the product skyrockted to avoid the restrictions imposed by the Online Safety Act.
A VPN reroutes a device’s internet traffic to another country, meaning it bypasses the new Act imposed by Labour.
Swiss Proton VPN became the UK’s top free app on Apple’s app store over the weekend with downloads up 1,800 per cent.
Nord VPN reported a 1,000 per cent spike in purchases from Britain with half of the top ten free apps on the store are VPNs now.
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VPN sales have skyrocketed since the Government’s announcement
Labour has supported the move to ban the use of VPN when the Act was first moving through parliament.
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 MP Sarah Champion previously launched a campaign against VPNs
Reform 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”.
