A flurry of VPN downloads after the Online Safety Act came into force in July fuelled concern that the legislation may inadvertently hurt publishers.
Widespread VPN adoption would pose a serious threat to the industry. Not only do VPNs make tracking and geo-targeting impossible, they often include ad-blocking technology. There was a real fear that the Act could accelerate the spread of dark traffic, an existential problem for digital media.
Back in July, MediaCat UK wrote that the Online Safety Act ‘may well go down as a victory for child protection, but it’s even more likely it will be seen as the catalyst for mass adoption of privacy tools — tools that make publisher monetisation models untenable.’
A few months on, that prediction appears too pessimistic.
According to data from Ofcom, released this month as part of an update on the implementation of the Act, UK daily active users of VPN apps did rise after July, doubling to around 1.5 million. But this fell to about one million by the end of September, only a modest increase and probably not a cause for alarm.
It’s not just Ofcom. Porn sites, the main target of the Act, are reporting the same story. Visits to porn sites have dropped by almost a third, with big sites being the most hit, but there has not been an increase in unusual traffic from another region, which would suggest the use of VPNs. Porn conglomerate Aylo told the Financial Times that people are instead turning to non-compliant websites when they want to get their rocks off
In other words, users are taking the path of least resistance, even if it means accepting some limitations.
Digital publishing certainly has enough existential challenges to worry about but, for now, an Online Safety Act-fuelled VPN boom isn’t one of them.
Main image by Rafael Garcin on Unsplash