British Pornography Traffic Falls Following Age Checks, But VPN Usage Surges, Reports Regulator
Traffic to adult content websites in the United Kingdom has decreased markedly after the enforcement of mandatory age verification this summer, according to the country's communications regulator. At the same time, the adoption of specialist software designed to bypass these restrictions has risen.
Immediate Drop in Visitor Figures Following Law Enforcement
The introduction of age verification on 25 July caused an swift fall in traffic to major pornography sites, including the top provider in the UK. Data indicates that visitor numbers to this platform in August stood at 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million compared to the same period in 2024.
In total, traffic to the ten top adult services in the UK have now settled at a markedly decreased volume than prior to the late July deadline. Subsequent analysis indicates this slump in site visits persisted past August.
Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Usage to Evade Checks
In response to the new regulations, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can get around geographic restrictions by masking internet traffic via another country—increased dramatically after 25 July.
Usage reached a high at more than 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from approximately 650,000 people before the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has since steadily declined, with current numbers at around 900,000. It added that the level of regular VPN use is “much lower” than user numbers for adult sites.
Young People Taking Action to Harmful Online Content
In other findings, the regulator's report found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing distressing content online. Actions ranged from flagging the material to the site to muting the user who posted it.
This survey was conducted before new rules came into force that require social media companies to prevent children from accessing harmful content, including material related to self-harm and pornography. The primary way teenagers came across such content was by scrolling through a platform timeline, suggesting that recommendation systems were serving inappropriate material.
Ministers Launch Review of Adult Content Laws
In a related development, the ministers announced it would examine the legislation governing pornography to consider whether it is adequate in the modern online world.
“The examination will investigate the efficacy of the existing law in regarding making illegal, among other things, harmful depictions of familial abuse and any types of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” said a justice minister.
Campaigners Push For Tighter Digital Regulations
Advocates for tighter regulation of adult content have called on the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote abuse by casting young-looking adults portraying children.
Suggested amendments to legislation seek to:
- Ban pornography where performers are mimicking children, sometimes recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the crime of making an indecent image of a child to include material where an older performer acts the part of a child.
- Apply stricter controls on incest-themed pornography, which studies indicates is heavily recommended by site algorithms.
- Introduce further controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to own tools designed to create non-consensual nude images.
- Establish a new, separate regulatory body to perform inspections on pornography sites and respond to complaints of illegal content.
The campaigners argue that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have existed for decades in the physical world finally apply to the digital age.
