British Pornography Traffic Declines Following Age Verifications, But VPN Use Spikes, Reports Regulator
Traffic to adult content websites in the UK has decreased markedly since the roll-out of age-checking measures earlier this year, as reported by the country's communications regulator. At the same time, the usage of specialist software designed to circumvent these barriers has risen.
Sharp Fall in Visitor Figures Following Law Implementation
The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July resulted in an swift reduction in traffic to popular online adult platforms, including the top provider in the UK. Data reveals that visitor numbers to this platform in August were 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.
Overall, traffic to the ten top pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a significantly reduced level than prior to the end-of-July implementation date. Subsequent data indicates this slump in viewing persisted past August.
Sharp Increase in VPN Adoption to Bypass Checks
Reacting to the new regulations, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can get around location-based blocks by routing connections via another country—surged following 25 July.
User numbers reached a high at more than 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from approximately 650,000 people prior to the checks were introduced. However, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has afterwards fallen back, with current figures at around 900,000. It added that the volume of regular VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for adult services.
Young People Taking Action to Damaging Online Content
Elsewhere, the watchdog's report found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering damaging content online. Steps taken ranged from reporting the content to the site to muting the person who shared it.
This research was conducted prior to new regulations came into force that require social media companies to stop children from accessing harmful content, such as material related to self-harm and adult material. The most common way teenagers came across such content was by scrolling through a social media timeline, suggesting that algorithms were serving inappropriate material.
Government Announce Examination of Pornography Laws
In a related development, the government announced it would examine the legislation governing pornography to consider whether it is “fit for purpose” in the ever-developing online world.
“The review will investigate the efficacy of the current law in relation to criminalising, for example, harmful portrayals of familial abuse and any forms of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” stated a justice minister.
Campaigners Call For Stricter Online Controls
Campaigners for tighter regulation of adult content have urged the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote child sexual abuse by casting youthful performers dressed as children.
Suggested amendments to legislation seek to:
- Ban pornography where performers are impersonating children, often recorded in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the offence of making an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an adult plays the role of a child.
- Apply tighter regulation on familial abuse pornography, which studies suggests is heavily recommended by site algorithms.
- Add additional restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to possess software designed to create non-consensual nude images.
- Create a new, separate oversight agency to perform spot checks on pornography sites and act on complaints of illegal content.
The campaigners argue that these steps would ensure the protections that have been enforced for years offline finally apply to the digital age.