British Pornography Traffic Declines After Identity Checks, But VPN Usage Surges, States Regulator
Visitor numbers to pornography sites in the United Kingdom has seen a notable drop after the introduction of mandatory age verification this summer, according to the nation's communications regulator. Simultaneously, the use of tools designed to circumvent these restrictions has increased.
Immediate Drop in Visitor Numbers After Law Implementation
The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July caused an immediate decline in traffic to major online adult platforms, such as the most visited site in the UK. Figures shows that visitor numbers to this site in August stood at 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.
In total, visitor numbers to the ten top adult services in the UK have now stabilized at a significantly reduced level than before the end-of-July implementation date. Subsequent data suggests this slump in viewing persisted past August.
Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Bypass Checks
Reacting to the new rules, use of VPN software—which can bypass location-based restrictions by masking internet traffic through another nation—increased dramatically after 25 July.
User numbers peaked at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from around 650,000 users prior to the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the regulator stated that VPN usage has afterwards steadily declined, with latest figures at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the level of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for adult sites.
Teenagers Taking Action to Damaging Online Content
In other findings, the regulator's annual study found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing distressing content online. Steps taken ranged from flagging the material to the platform to blocking the user who shared it.
This research was carried out before new regulations came into force that compel social media companies to prevent children from accessing harmful content, including material related to self-harm and adult material. The most common way young people encountered such content was by scrolling through a platform feed, suggesting that algorithms were serving harmful material.
Government Announce Review of Adult Content Laws
In a related development, the government announced it would examine the criminal law governing pornography to assess whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern digital age.
“The review will look into the effectiveness of the current law in regarding making illegal, among other things, damaging depictions of familial abuse and any types of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” said a justice minister.
Advocates Call For Stricter Online Regulations
Campaigners for tighter regulation of adult content have urged the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages child sexual abuse by using youthful performers dressed as children.
Suggested amendments to legislation aim to:
- Prohibit pornography where adults are impersonating children, often filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the crime of making an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an adult acts the part of a child.
- Introduce tighter controls on incest-themed pornography, which studies suggests is heavily recommended by site algorithms.
- Introduce further restrictions on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to own software designed to generate private images without permission.
- Establish a new, separate oversight agency to perform inspections on adult platforms and respond to complaints of illegal content.
The advocates contend that these steps would ensure the protections that have been enforced for decades in the physical world finally are extended to the online sphere.
