British Pornography Traffic Falls Following Identity Verifications, But Virtual Private Network Use Spikes, Reports Regulator
Traffic to adult content platforms in the UK has fallen significantly since the introduction of mandatory age verification this summer, according to the country's communications watchdog. Simultaneously, the adoption of specialist software designed to dodge these blocks has increased.
Immediate Drop in User Figures Following Law Enforcement
The introduction of age verification on 25 July resulted in an prompt fall in traffic to popular pornography sites, such as the top provider in the UK. Figures shows that visitor numbers to this site in August reached 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million compared to the same period in 2024.
In total, visitor numbers to the ten most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a significantly reduced level than before the late July implementation date. Later analysis shows this downward trend in site visits continued past August.
Sharp Increase in VPN Usage to Bypass Restrictions
In response to the new rules, adoption of VPN software—which can circumvent geographic blocks by masking connections through another country—increased dramatically after 25 July.
Usage reached a high at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from approximately 650,000 users prior to the checks began. However, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has since decreased, with current figures at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the level of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for pornography sites.
Teenagers Responding to Harmful Material
Elsewhere, the regulator's annual study found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing damaging content online. Steps taken ranged from reporting the content to the platform to blocking the user who shared it.
This research was conducted prior to new regulations came into force that compel social media companies to stop children from seeing dangerous content, including material related to self-harm and adult material. The most common way young people came across such content was by scrolling through a platform feed, indicating that algorithms were serving harmful material.
Government Announce Review of Adult Content Laws
In a related development, the government announced it would review the criminal law governing pornography to consider whether it is effective in the modern digital age.
“The examination will investigate the effectiveness of the existing law in regarding making illegal, among other things, damaging portrayals of incest and any types of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” said a justice minister.
Campaigners Push For Stricter Digital Controls
Advocates for better regulation of adult content have urged the authorities to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote abuse by using young-looking adults dressed as children.
Suggested changes to legislation seek to:
- Prohibit pornography where adults are impersonating children, sometimes recorded in environments 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 regulation on incest-themed pornography, which studies suggests is often promoted by platform systems.
- Introduce additional controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to possess tools designed to generate non-consensual nude images.
- Create a new, independent oversight agency to perform spot checks on adult platforms and respond to reports of unlawful content.
The advocates contend that these steps would ensure the protections that have been enforced for years in the physical world finally are extended to the online sphere.
