British Pornography Traffic Falls After Age Verifications, Yet VPN Usage Spikes, Reports Watchdog
Visitor numbers to adult content websites in the UK has seen a notable drop since the enforcement of mandatory age verification earlier this year, according to the country's communications authority. Simultaneously, the usage of tools designed to bypass these barriers has surged.
Sharp Fall in Visitor Figures After Rule Enforcement
The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July resulted in an immediate fall in visits to popular online adult platforms, including the leading provider in the UK. Figures indicates that user traffic to this site in August stood at 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.
In total, visitor numbers to the 10 top pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a markedly decreased volume than before the end-of-July implementation date. Later analysis shows this slump in viewing continued beyond August.
Surge in Virtual Private Network Usage to Evade Checks
In response to the new rules, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can get around geographic restrictions by routing internet traffic via another country—more than doubled following 25 July.
User numbers peaked at more than 1.4 million in mid-August, up from approximately 650,000 users prior to the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has afterwards fallen back, with current figures at around 900,000. It clarified that the level of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for adult sites.
Young People Taking Action to Harmful Material
Elsewhere, the regulator's report revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing damaging content on the internet. Actions included reporting the content to the platform to blocking the user who posted it.
This survey was carried out prior to new regulations took effect that require social media companies to stop children from seeing harmful content, including material related to suicide and adult material. The most common way young people came across such content was by looking through a platform feed, suggesting that algorithms were showing inappropriate material.
Government Announce Examination of Pornography Laws
Separately, the government stated it would examine the legislation relating to pornography to consider whether it is adequate in the ever-developing digital age.
“The review will investigate the efficacy of the existing law in relation to criminalising, among other things, harmful portrayals of familial abuse and any types of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” said a justice minister.
Advocates Push For Tighter Online Controls
Advocates for better control of adult content have urged the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote abuse by using youthful performers dressed as children.
Suggested changes to government bills aim to:
- Ban pornography where adults are mimicking children, often recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the crime of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an adult plays the role of a child.
- Introduce tighter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which research suggests is heavily recommended by site algorithms.
- Introduce further restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to own tools designed to generate non-consensual nude images.
- Establish a new, separate regulatory body to conduct inspections on pornography sites and respond to reports of illegal content.
The advocates argue that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have existed for decades offline finally are extended to the digital age.