UK Pornography Traffic Declines After Age Checks, But Virtual Private Network Usage Surges, Reports Regulator
Access to adult content sites in the UK has fallen significantly since the enforcement of age-checking measures this summer, according to the nation's communications authority. At the same time, the adoption of specialist software designed to bypass these barriers has surged.
Immediate Drop in Visitor Figures Following Law Implementation
The introduction of age verification on 25 July led to an swift fall in visits to major pornography sites, such as the leading provider in the UK. Data indicates that user traffic to this site in August were 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million compared to the equivalent month in 2024.
Overall, visitor numbers to the 10 most-visited adult services in the UK have now settled at a markedly decreased volume than before the end-of-July implementation date. Subsequent data shows this slump in viewing continued past August.
Sharp Increase in VPN Usage to Bypass Restrictions
In response to the new regulations, use of VPN software—which can bypass location-based blocks by masking internet traffic via another nation—more than doubled after 25 July.
Usage reached a high at more than 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from approximately 650,000 people before the verification began. However, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has since steadily declined, with current figures at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the volume of daily VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for adult sites.
Young People Responding to Harmful Material
In other findings, the watchdog's report found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing damaging content on the internet. Actions ranged from flagging the material to the platform to blocking the person who posted it.
This research was carried out before new rules came into force that require social media companies to stop children from accessing harmful content, such as material related to suicide and pornography. The most common way teenagers encountered such content was by scrolling through a platform timeline, suggesting that recommendation systems were serving inappropriate material.
Ministers Announce Review of Adult Content Legislation
In a related development, the ministers announced it would examine the legislation relating to pornography to consider whether it is effective in the modern digital age.
“The examination will look into the efficacy of the existing law in regarding criminalising, for example, harmful depictions of incest and any types of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” said a justice minister.
Advocates Push For Tighter Digital Regulations
Advocates for tighter control of online pornography have urged the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages child sexual abuse by using youthful adults portraying children.
Suggested changes to legislation seek to:
- Prohibit pornography where performers are mimicking children, sometimes recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the crime of making an indecent image of a child to include material where an older performer acts the part of a child.
- Apply stricter regulation on familial abuse pornography, which research indicates is often promoted by site systems.
- Introduce further controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to possess software designed to create private images without permission.
- Establish a new, separate regulatory body to conduct spot checks on adult platforms and act on complaints of illegal content.
The campaigners contend that these measures would ensure the protections that have been enforced for decades offline finally are extended to the digital age.
