Can VPNs Bypass Australia's Social Media Ban? UK's 2,000% Spike Says Yes

Australia’s social media ban for under-16s takes effect December 10, 2025. Platforms face $49.5 million fines if kids slip through. The government promises robust age verification.

But when the UK introduced nearly identical laws on July 25, 2025, VPN usage spiked 2,000% within 48 hours. A petition to repeal the law gathered 549,000 signatures.

And even NordVPN, a major VPN provider, admitted: “We are sceptical that VPNs will play a significant role in the long term. Only reliance on parental control apps and education can provide sustainable outcomes.”

A VPN company. Admitting their product won’t solve the problem. While profiting from the law’s failure.

So the question: Can VPNs bypass Australia’s social media ban? The UK already answered: Easily.

My Conflict of Interest

I make money from VPN affiliate commissions. This ban has the potential to increase my VPN revenue significantly. That conflict matters, so I’m disclosing it upfront.

If you’re going to read this, you should know: I profit from VPN sales. But I’m ranking by privacy, not commission. More on that below.

What Happened in the UK (The Proof It Doesn’t Work)

Searches for VPNs skyrocketed in the UK after the age verification law went live.

The Numbers

According to Malwarebytes’ analysis of Top10VPN monitoring data:

July 25, 2025: UK Online Safety Act takes effect
Day 1: 1,327% VPN traffic spike (Top10VPN monitoring data)
Day 2: 1,712% increase above pre-July 25 baseline
Day 3: Nearly 2,000% spike above baseline
Result: VPN apps topped UK app store charts, beating ChatGPT in downloads

This wasn’t gradual. This was immediate. The moment age verification went live, VPN usage exploded.

The Response

549,000-signature petition demanding repeal (triggered mandatory Parliamentary debate, documented by Parliament UK)

Major platforms responded differently:

Pornhub, SpankBang: Implemented ID uploads, biometric checks
Reddit: Requires Persona verification (selfie + government ID)
Discord: k-ID one-time verification
Some sites: Geo-blocked UK entirely to avoid compliance costs

The Reality

According to Malwarebytes, UK Science Secretary Peter Kyle claimed the law “solved up to 90% of the problem.”

Meanwhile:

VPN apps topped the UK app store charts
549,000 people signed a petition to repeal it
Ethical hackers already demonstrated ways to trick verification systems
Privacy advocates warned about data breach risks (storing biometric data + government IDs)

The law failed. Not eventually. Immediately.

How VPNs Bypass Age Verification (The Technical Reality)

The Mechanism

Age verification checks your IP address location
If IP shows Australia → age verification required
VPN routes connection through server in another country (Netherlands, US, Canada, etc.)
Platform sees non-Australia IP → no age verification triggered
Access granted without ID upload

Why It Works

Platforms can’t distinguish legitimate VPN traffic from actual international users
Blocking all VPNs would block legitimate users traveling abroad
Geo-blocking detection is a cat-and-mouse game (Netflix tried for years, still fails)
Even platform engineers admit: completely blocking VPNs breaks the service for everyone

What GeoComply (Age Verification Company) Admits

According to the Australian Financial Review, GeoComply pitched their tech to Australia’s government. Their CEO, Kip Levin, made two conflicting statements:

Statement 1 (Scary): “Australia’s social media minimum age law will cause a spike in VPN demand. This is inevitable.”

Statement 2 (Reassuring): “VPN circumvention does not have to be a foregone conclusion… This problem has already been solved in other digital industries.”

Translation: It CAN be solved, but only with extreme surveillance measures (GPS spoofing detection, device fingerprinting, hardware ID tracking).

The Problem: That level of government-backed surveillance raises massive privacy concerns for ALL users, not just kids. It’s the backdoor argument: “We need to track everyone to stop bad actors.”

The UK government chose not to go that far. Australia probably won’t either. But time will tell.

Australia’s Ban Details (What’s Coming December 10)

Timeline

December 10, 2025: Law takes effect
March 2026: Porn sites also require age verification
Full compliance expected: 2026

Covered Platforms

Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, X (Twitter), Reddit, YouTube

Penalties

Up to $49.5 million per violation for platforms allowing under-16s

Age Verification Methods (From 1,100-Page Government Report)

Communications Minister Anika Wells is sitting on a 10-volume, 1,100-page trial report that covers 50+ tech companies’ age verification pitches.

Proposed methods:

Facial scanning/biometric checks
Photo ID upload
Credit card verification
Email analysis
Digital identity services

The Problem Already Documented: Facial scanning has already misidentified the ages of school students during testing. If the technology fails during trials, what happens at scale?

Why VPNs Will Bypass Australia’s Ban (The Prediction)

The Current VPN Landscape

1/3 of Australians already use VPNs (Nord data, before the ban even starts)

This is important: It’s not like VPNs are niche. One in three Australians is already familiar with how to use them.

The Inevitable Spike

According to the Australian Financial Review:

GeoComply CEO: “This is inevitable.”

Nord: “Whenever a government announces an increase in surveillance, internet restrictions, or other types of constraints, people turn to privacy tools.”

Conservative estimate:

UK: 67M population → 2,000% VPN spike
Australia: 26M population → roughly 520,000 new VPN users likely

Who Will Use VPNs:

Teenagers (circumventing the age restriction)
Adults (protecting privacy from mass ID collection)
Parents (worried about ID data breaches, surveillance concerns)

The Irony

The law is designed to protect kids. But what it actually does:

Drives kids underground to use VPNs
Removes parental/platform oversight (if they’re on VPN, you can’t see what they’re doing)
Makes them LESS safe, not more

VPN Companies Admit It Won’t Work

Nord’s Own Assessment

According to the Australian Financial Review:

“We are sceptical that VPNs will play a significant role in the long term. Only reliance on parental control apps and education can provide sustainable outcomes.”

Think about that. A major VPN company is saying: Don’t rely on us. Use education and parental controls instead.

Yet they’re still going to profit from this law’s implementation. They’ll market VPN subscriptions, get media coverage about the ban, watch their signup numbers spike 2,000% like they did in the UK.

Then they’ll take your money.

The Conflict Is Transparent

According to the same AFR article, Nord spokesman also said: “Criminalisation or censorship never go without the society’s attempts to resist them. Privacy tools are the first things people turn to for internet freedom.”

Translation: “We’ll sell VPNs because people will buy them. But we admit VPNs aren’t the real solution.”

This is exactly what I’m doing. Selling VPN affiliates while admitting the product won’t fix the problem. At least I’m being honest about the conflict.

Legal & Ethical Context

Disclaimer

This article documents the technical reality of VPN circumvention based on UK data. It is not intended to encourage minors to bypass age restrictions. Age verification laws exist to protect young people from potentially harmful content, and those protections should be respected.

This is research documenting what happened in the UK and what’s likely to happen in Australia.

The Adult Privacy Angle

Many adults oppose mass ID collection for legitimate privacy reasons:

Data breach risk: Biometric data + government IDs stored by porn sites, dating apps, social media platforms
Surveillance expansion: Once you normalize ID requirements for “protection,” governments expand it (see: China’s facial recognition systems)
Chilling effect: People stop accessing legitimate sexual health information, mental health resources, LGBTQ+ forums

The UK petition hit 420,000 signatures because many adults see this as government overreach, not child protection.

The Parent Dilemma

If your teen WILL use a VPN (UK data proves they will), then the choice becomes:

Option A: They use a sketchy free VPN that logs everything and sells their browsing history

Option B: They use a legitimate, privacy-focused VPN with no logging

I’m recommending Option B. Not because VPNs solve the problem (they don’t), but because if they’re happening anyway, better they’re safe.

Safer VPN Options (Full Commission Disclosure)

I make money from these affiliate links. Disclosing exact amounts:

1. Mullvad — $0 Commission, Maximum Privacy

Why #1 (despite $0 payout):

Accepts cash payments (fully anonymous, no account required)
2023 police raid proved they keep zero logs (nothing to seize)
$5/month, no BS, no trial periods
Worst VPN company for my affiliate income, best for actual privacy

The Proof: Swedish police raided Mullvad’s office in 2021. They found no user data because Mullvad doesn’t collect it. That’s not a marketing claim, that’s court-proven.

Read my review of Mullvad here: Mullvad Review

2. ProtonVPN — ~$25 Commission

Why #2:

Swiss jurisdiction (strong privacy laws, better than US alternatives)
Transparent company (third-party security audits, published)
Free tier available (limited servers, but real privacy)
Reputable: Founded by scientists from CERN

The Catch:

More expensive than competitors
Free tier is limited (limited country selection)

Read my review of ProtonVPN here: ProtonVPN Review

3. NordVPN — ~$40 Commission

Why #3 (not #1):

Popular, fast servers, good customer experience
Works with most streaming services
Reasonably priced

Major Caveat:

In 2018, NordVPN suffered a data breach
They hid the breach for 18 months before disclosing it
That’s a trust issue for a privacy company
Since then they have cleaned up their act, but I still have concerns
Only recommend for streaming or non-sensitive use

Read my review of NordVPN here: NordVPN Review

Explicitly Rejected: ExpressVPN

Why I’m rejecting them despite $95 commission per sale (~$70 more than ProtonVPN):

Owned by Kape Technologies (formerly Crossrider, an alleged ex-malware company)
I leave $70 per sale on the table by not recommending them
But I can’t recommend a privacy product owned by a company with that history

Why? Because you deserve better than a product I wouldn’t use myself.

Free VPNs to Avoid

Don’t use:

Hola (sold user bandwidth to third parties)
SuperVPN, TouchVPN (confirmed data logging)
Any “unlimited free” VPN (if you’re not paying, you’re the product)

“Too-good-to-be-true” VPNs make money by harvesting and selling your data. That defeats the entire purpose.

What Actually Works (The Real Solution)

According to the Australian Financial Review, Nord (the VPN company) got it right in their own analysis:

“Only reliance on parental control apps and education can provide sustainable outcomes.”

They admitted this. Then they’ll still sell VPN subscriptions.

For Parents: What Actually Reduces Harm

Communication > Surveillance
- Talk to your kids about why social media can be harmful
- Discuss what makes content “harmful” vs. just “uncomfortable”
- Build trust so they come to you if they see something disturbing
Delayed Access, Not Banned Access
- Teach healthy usage patterns before they turn 16
- Supervise early social media use (not spy on it)
- Age restrictions are blunt; guidance is precise
Monitor, Don’t Block
- Know which platforms they’re on
- Have ongoing conversations about their online experience
- Parental control apps (not age bans) can help identify problems
Resources
- eSafety Commissioner guides (Australian government)
- Common Sense Media (age-appropriate app/content recommendations)
- Your kid’s school (many have digital wellness programs)

Why Bans Fail

UK Case Study:

Government implemented age ban: “This will protect kids”
VPN usage spiked 2,000%
Kids went underground
Now parents can’t monitor them at all
Result: Kids are actually LESS safe

The Pattern:

Bans create adversarial relationships (parent/government vs. kid)
Kids lose trust and hide their online activity
When they see something harmful, they don’t tell anyone
Bans don’t teach judgment, they teach circumvention

The Bottom Line

Can VPNs bypass Australia’s social media ban? Yes. The UK proved it with a 2,000% spike in 48 hours.

Will the Australian government admit this before December 10? Unlikely. Performative legislation doesn’t require effectiveness, just the appearance of action.

Will VPN companies profit? Absolutely. Even while admitting VPNs aren’t the solution.

Will I profit from affiliate commissions? Yes. At least I’m being honest about it.

The reality:

The ban will be technically circumvented within days of implementation
VPN companies will see massive signup spikes (like the UK)
Affiliate marketers (including me) will profit
The government will claim success anyway
Kids won’t stop using social media, they’ll just use it less safely

If you want to actually protect kids online: Talk to them. Educate them. Delay access thoughtfully. Don’t rely on a law that the UK already proved doesn’t work.

Sources

Gov.uk: What’s changing for children on social media from 25 July 2025 (July 2025) - New UK laws come into force, protecting under-18s from harmful online content
Australian Financial Review: “Australia expecting massive VPN spike over youth social ban” (August 26, 2025) - AFR article covering Nord quotes, GeoComply CEO statements, Australia’s ban details
Malwarebytes: “VPN use rises following Online Safety Act’s age verification controls” (July 2025) - Top10VPN traffic spike data, Peter Kyle quotes, UK enforcement details

Legal Note: This article documents publicly available data from UK implementation (July 2025), government reports, and statements from VPN companies and technology firms. The technical information is based on how age verification and VPN technology function. This is not legal advice; if you’re unsure about the legality of VPN usage in Australia, consult with a lawyer.

Affiliate Disclaimer: I make commissions from ProtonVPN (~$25/sale), NordVPN (~$40/sale), and Mullvad ($0 commission). I make $0 from ExpressVPN, which I explicitly reject. I’m disclosing this because my revenue increases when VPN searches spike due to this ban, creating a financial incentive to cover this topic. That’s a conflict I’m acknowledging upfront.