UK Pornography Traffic Declines After Identity Checks, Yet Virtual Private Network Use Spikes, States Regulator
Traffic to pornography sites in the United Kingdom has decreased markedly since the enforcement of mandatory age verification this summer, as reported by the nation's communications watchdog. Simultaneously, the use of tools designed to circumvent these restrictions has risen.
Sharp Fall in Visitor Figures Following Law Implementation
The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July caused an swift fall in traffic to popular online adult platforms, such as the most visited site in the UK. Data indicates that user traffic to this platform in August were 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.
Overall, traffic to the 10 top adult services in the UK have now settled at a markedly decreased volume than before the end-of-July deadline. Subsequent analysis shows this downward trend in site visits persisted beyond August.
Surge in VPN Adoption to Bypass Checks
Reacting to the new rules, use of VPN software—which can get around geographic blocks by routing internet traffic via another nation—increased dramatically following 25 July.
User numbers peaked at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from approximately 650,000 people prior to the checks began. Subsequently, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has afterwards steadily declined, with current numbers standing at around 900,000. It clarified that the volume of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for pornography sites.
Young People Responding to Harmful Online Content
Elsewhere, the regulator's annual study found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering damaging content online. Steps taken included flagging the material to the platform to muting the person who posted it.
This research was conducted prior to new regulations came into force that compel platforms to stop children from seeing harmful content, such as material related to suicide and adult material. The most common way teenagers came across such content was by looking through a social media timeline, suggesting that algorithms were showing inappropriate material.
Ministers Launch Review of Adult Content Legislation
In a related development, the ministers announced it would examine the criminal law governing pornography to assess whether it is adequate in the modern online world.
“The examination will investigate the efficacy of the current law in relation to criminalising, for example, harmful portrayals of incest and any types of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” stated a government official.
Advocates Push For Tighter Online Controls
Advocates for tighter control of adult content have called on the government to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages child sexual abuse by using young-looking performers dressed as children.
Suggested amendments to government bills seek to:
- Prohibit pornography where adults are impersonating children, often recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the crime of creating an indecent image of a child to cover material where an older performer acts the part of a child.
- Introduce tighter controls on incest-themed pornography, which research indicates is often promoted by platform algorithms.
- Introduce further controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to possess software designed to generate private images without permission.
- Establish a new, separate oversight agency to conduct inspections on adult platforms and act on reports of illegal content.
The campaigners contend that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for years offline finally are extended to the digital age.
