UK Pornography Traffic Declines After Identity Checks, But VPN Usage Surges, Reports Regulator
Visitor numbers to adult content platforms in the United Kingdom has seen a notable drop after the roll-out of mandatory age verification this summer, as reported by the nation's communications watchdog. Simultaneously, the use of tools designed to dodge these blocks has surged.
Immediate Fall in Visitor Figures Following Law Enforcement
The enforcement of age verification on 25 July led to an prompt fall in traffic to major online adult platforms, such as the top provider in the UK. Figures shows that user traffic to this platform in August stood at 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024.
Overall, traffic to the 10 most-visited adult services in the UK have now settled at a markedly decreased volume than before the late July implementation date. Subsequent analysis suggests this slump in site visits persisted past August.
Sharp Increase in VPN Usage to Bypass Checks
Reacting to the new regulations, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can bypass location-based blocks by masking connections via another nation—surged after 25 July.
User numbers reached a high at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from approximately 650,000 users before the checks were introduced. However, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has since fallen back, with current figures at around 900,000. It clarified that the level of daily VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for adult sites.
Teenagers Taking Action to Harmful Material
In other findings, the watchdog's report revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing distressing content online. Actions ranged from reporting the material to the site to muting the person who posted it.
This survey was carried out prior to new regulations came into force that require social media companies to prevent children from accessing dangerous content, such as material related to self-harm and pornography. The most common way teenagers encountered such content was by looking through a platform timeline, indicating that algorithms were serving harmful material.
Ministers Launch Examination of Adult Content Legislation
In a related development, the ministers announced it would examine the criminal law governing pornography to assess whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern online world.
“The examination will look into the effectiveness of the existing law in relation to criminalising, among other things, damaging portrayals of incest and any forms of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” stated a justice minister.
Advocates Call For Stricter Online Controls
Advocates for tighter control of adult content have urged the government to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages abuse by casting youthful performers portraying children.
Suggested changes to legislation aim to:
- Ban pornography where adults are mimicking children, often 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 stricter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which studies suggests is heavily recommended by platform systems.
- Introduce additional restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to own software designed to create private images without permission.
- Create a new, separate regulatory body to conduct inspections on pornography sites and respond to reports of unlawful content.
The campaigners argue that these measures would ensure the protections that have been enforced for years in the physical world finally apply to the online sphere.
