UK Pornography Traffic Declines Following Identity Checks, Yet VPN Usage Spikes, Reports Watchdog
Access to adult content sites in the UK has decreased markedly after the introduction of age-checking measures earlier this year, according to the nation's communications watchdog. At the same time, the adoption of tools designed to circumvent these barriers has surged.
Sharp Drop in User Figures After Law Enforcement
The introduction of age verification on 25 July resulted in an immediate reduction in visits to popular pornography sites, such as the top site in the UK. Data shows that visitor numbers to this site in August were 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024.
In total, traffic to the 10 most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a markedly decreased volume than prior to the end-of-July implementation date. Subsequent analysis shows this slump in site visits persisted past August.
Surge in Virtual Private Network Usage to Bypass Checks
In response to the new rules, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can bypass location-based restrictions by masking internet traffic through another country—increased dramatically after 25 July.
Usage reached a high at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from around 650,000 people before the verification began. Subsequently, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has afterwards decreased, with current figures at approximately 900,000. It added that the level of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for pornography sites.
Teenagers Responding to Damaging Online Content
Elsewhere, the regulator's report found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing harmful content on the internet. Actions included flagging the content to the site to muting the user who posted it.
This research was conducted prior to new rules came into force that compel platforms to prevent children from accessing harmful content, including material related to self-harm and adult material. The most common way teenagers encountered such content was by looking through a social media feed, indicating that recommendation systems were serving harmful material.
Ministers Launch Review of Pornography Legislation
In a related development, the ministers stated it would examine the criminal law relating to pornography to assess whether it is “fit for purpose” in the ever-developing online world.
“The examination will investigate the effectiveness of the existing law in relation to criminalising, for example, damaging depictions of familial abuse and any types of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” said a government official.
Campaigners Call For Stricter Digital Regulations
Advocates for better control of adult content have urged the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that encourages child sexual abuse by casting young-looking adults dressed as children.
Proposed changes to government bills aim to:
- Ban pornography where adults are mimicking children, sometimes recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the crime of making an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an older performer plays the role of a child.
- Apply tighter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which studies indicates is heavily recommended by platform systems.
- Introduce additional controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to own tools designed to create private images without permission.
- Establish a new, separate regulatory body to perform inspections on adult platforms and act on reports of illegal content.
The campaigners argue that these measures would ensure the protections that have existed for decades in the physical world finally are extended to the digital age.
