British Adult Content Traffic Falls Following Age Verifications, Yet Virtual Private Network Usage Spikes, States Regulator
Access to pornography platforms in the United Kingdom has decreased markedly since the introduction of age-checking measures earlier this year, according to the country's communications regulator. At the same time, the use of tools designed to bypass these restrictions has increased.
Immediate Drop in Visitor Figures After Rule Implementation
The enforcement of age verification on 25 July resulted in an swift reduction in traffic to major online adult platforms, such as the leading site in the UK. Figures reveals that visitor numbers to this site in August reached 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.
Overall, visitor numbers to the ten most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a “lower level” than before the end-of-July implementation date. Subsequent data indicates this decline in viewing continued past August.
Surge in Virtual Private Network Usage to Bypass Checks
Reacting to the new rules, use of VPN software—which can bypass location-based restrictions by routing connections via another country—surged after 25 July.
User numbers peaked at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from around 650,000 users before the verification were introduced. However, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has afterwards fallen back, with latest figures standing at around 900,000. It clarified that the volume of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for pornography services.
Young People Taking Action to Damaging Material
Elsewhere, the watchdog's annual study found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering distressing content on the internet. Actions included flagging the content to the site to muting the person who shared it.
This research was conducted prior to new regulations took effect that compel platforms to prevent children from seeing harmful content, including material related to suicide and pornography. The most common way teenagers encountered such content was by scrolling through a platform feed, suggesting that algorithms were showing harmful material.
Government Launch Review of Adult Content Laws
In a related development, the government stated it would review the legislation governing pornography to assess whether it is effective in the ever-developing digital age.
“The examination will look into the efficacy of the existing law in regarding making illegal, among other things, harmful depictions of familial abuse and any types of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” stated a justice minister.
Advocates Call For Stricter Online Controls
Advocates for better control of online pornography have urged the authorities to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring incest scenes or that encourages child sexual abuse by using youthful performers dressed as children.
Suggested amendments to legislation seek to:
- Ban pornography where performers are mimicking children, often filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the crime of making an indecent image of a child to cover material where an older performer acts the part of a child.
- Introduce tighter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which studies suggests is heavily recommended by site algorithms.
- Introduce additional controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to own tools designed to create non-consensual nude images.
- Establish a new, independent oversight agency to conduct spot checks on adult platforms and respond to complaints of unlawful content.
The advocates contend that these measures would ensure the protections that have been enforced for years offline finally apply to the online sphere.
