British Pornography Traffic Declines After Identity Checks, Yet VPN Usage Surges, Reports Watchdog
Access to adult content sites in the United Kingdom has seen a notable drop since the roll-out of mandatory age verification this summer, according to the country's communications regulator. At the same time, the usage of tools designed to circumvent these blocks has risen.
Sharp Drop in Visitor Numbers After Law Enforcement
The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July led to an prompt fall in visits to popular pornography sites, such as the leading provider in the UK. Data shows that user traffic to this platform in August reached 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million compared to the equivalent month in 2024.
In total, traffic to the 10 top pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a “lower level” than prior to the end-of-July implementation date. Subsequent data suggests this decline in viewing persisted past August.
Surge in Virtual Private Network Usage to Evade Restrictions
In response to the new regulations, use of VPN software—which can circumvent geographic restrictions by masking connections through another country—more than doubled after 25 July.
Usage peaked at more than 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from approximately 650,000 people prior to the checks began. Subsequently, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has afterwards steadily declined, with latest numbers at around 900,000. It added that the level of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for adult services.
Teenagers Taking Action to Harmful Online Content
Elsewhere, the watchdog's annual study found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing harmful content online. Actions included reporting the material to the platform to blocking the user who posted it.
This research was conducted before new regulations took effect that compel platforms to prevent children from accessing dangerous 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, suggesting that recommendation systems were showing inappropriate material.
Government Announce Review of Adult Content Legislation
In a related development, the ministers stated it would examine the legislation governing pornography to consider whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern online world.
“The examination will investigate the effectiveness of the current law in relation to criminalising, among other things, harmful portrayals of incest and any types of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” stated a government official.
Advocates Call For Stricter Online Regulations
Advocates for better control of adult content have called on the authorities to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote abuse by casting youthful performers dressed as children.
Proposed changes to legislation aim to:
- Ban pornography where performers are impersonating children, often filmed in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the offence of creating an indecent image of a child to cover material where an adult plays the role of a child.
- Apply tighter regulation on familial abuse pornography, which studies indicates is heavily recommended by platform algorithms.
- Add further restrictions on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to possess software designed to generate private images without permission.
- Create a new, separate oversight agency to perform spot checks on pornography sites and respond to complaints of unlawful content.
The advocates argue that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have existed for decades offline finally are extended to the digital age.
