British Pornography Traffic Declines After Identity Verifications, Yet VPN Use Spikes, Reports Watchdog
Access to pornography websites in the United Kingdom has seen a notable drop since the roll-out of age-checking measures this summer, as reported by the nation's communications watchdog. Concurrently, the adoption of tools designed to circumvent these barriers has surged.
Immediate Fall in User Figures Following Rule Enforcement
The introduction of age vetting on 25 July led to an swift reduction in traffic to major online adult platforms, including the leading provider in the UK. Data 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 pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a significantly reduced level than prior to the end-of-July deadline. Later data indicates this slump in site visits continued beyond August.
Sharp Increase in VPN Adoption to Bypass Checks
Reacting to the new regulations, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can circumvent geographic blocks by masking connections through another nation—increased dramatically after 25 July.
User numbers peaked at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from approximately 650,000 people before the checks were introduced. However, the regulator stated that VPN usage has since steadily declined, with latest figures at around 900,000. It clarified that the volume of daily VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for adult sites.
Teenagers Responding to Damaging Online Content
In other findings, the regulator's report found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering harmful content on the internet. Actions ranged from flagging the material to the platform to muting the user who posted it.
This survey was conducted before new regulations came into force that compel social media companies to prevent children from seeing harmful content, such as material related to self-harm and pornography. The most common way young people came across such content was by scrolling through a platform timeline, indicating that recommendation systems were serving inappropriate material.
Ministers Announce Review of Adult Content Laws
In a related development, the ministers announced it would examine the criminal law governing pornography to assess whether it is “fit for purpose” in the ever-developing online world.
“The examination will look into the effectiveness of the current law in regarding making illegal, for example, damaging depictions of incest and any types of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” stated a government official.
Advocates Call For Stricter Digital Regulations
Advocates for tighter control of online pornography have urged the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote abuse by casting youthful performers portraying children.
Suggested amendments to government bills aim to:
- Prohibit pornography where adults are impersonating children, often filmed in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the crime of making an indecent image of a child to cover material where an adult plays the role of a child.
- Introduce tighter controls on incest-themed pornography, which studies indicates is often promoted by site systems.
- Add additional restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to own tools designed to create private images without permission.
- Create a new, separate oversight agency to perform spot checks on pornography sites and respond to complaints of illegal content.
The advocates argue that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have existed for years in the physical world finally are extended to the online sphere.
