British Pornography Traffic Falls Following Identity Verifications, But Virtual Private Network Usage Surges, States Watchdog
Traffic to adult content sites in the United Kingdom has seen a notable drop after the introduction of age-checking measures this summer, as reported by the country's communications authority. Concurrently, the adoption of tools designed to dodge these restrictions has risen.
Immediate Drop in Visitor Numbers Following Rule Enforcement
The introduction of age vetting on 25 July caused an prompt reduction in visits to leading pornography sites, including the leading provider in the UK. Figures reveals that user traffic to this platform in August reached 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million compared to the same period in 2024.
Overall, traffic to the 10 most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a significantly reduced level than before the late July deadline. Later data suggests this downward trend in viewing persisted beyond August.
Surge in Virtual Private Network Usage to Evade Checks
Reacting to the new rules, adoption of VPN software—which can get around location-based restrictions by routing internet traffic via another country—more than doubled after 25 July.
Usage peaked at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from around 650,000 people prior to the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has since steadily declined, with latest numbers standing at approximately 900,000. It added that the level of daily VPN use is “much lower” than user numbers for adult services.
Teenagers Responding to Harmful Online Content
In other findings, the regulator's report revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing damaging content online. Actions included reporting the material to the site to blocking the user who shared it.
This survey was carried out before new regulations took effect that compel platforms to prevent children from seeing dangerous content, including material related to self-harm and pornography. The most common way young people came across such content was by scrolling through a platform feed, indicating that recommendation systems were serving inappropriate material.
Government Launch Examination of Pornography Legislation
Separately, the government announced it would examine the criminal law governing pornography to consider whether it is adequate in the modern online world.
“The review will investigate the effectiveness of the existing law in relation to making illegal, for example, damaging portrayals of incest and any types of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” said a justice minister.
Advocates Call For Tighter Digital Controls
Campaigners for tighter control of online pornography have called on the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote abuse by casting youthful adults portraying children.
Suggested amendments to legislation seek to:
- Prohibit pornography where adults are impersonating children, sometimes filmed in environments 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 controls on incest-themed pornography, which research suggests is heavily recommended by platform algorithms.
- Add further controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to own software designed to generate non-consensual nude images.
- Establish a new, separate regulatory body to conduct spot checks on adult platforms and act on reports of unlawful content.
The advocates contend that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for decades in the physical world finally are extended to the digital age.
