UK Pornography Traffic Falls After Identity Checks, But VPN Usage Surges, Reports Watchdog
Traffic to adult content websites in the UK has decreased markedly since the introduction of age-checking measures earlier this year, as reported by the country's communications watchdog. Concurrently, the adoption of specialist software designed to circumvent these blocks has increased.
Immediate Drop in Visitor Numbers Following Rule Implementation
The enforcement of age verification on 25 July caused an swift decline in traffic to popular online adult platforms, including the leading provider in the UK. Data reveals that user traffic to this platform in August were 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.
In total, visitor numbers to the 10 top adult services in the UK have now settled at a “lower level” than prior to the end-of-July deadline. Later analysis shows this downward trend in site visits persisted past August.
Surge in Virtual Private Network Usage to Evade Restrictions
Reacting to the new regulations, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can get around location-based blocks by routing connections via another nation—increased dramatically following 25 July.
User numbers reached a high at more than 1.4 million in mid-August, up from around 650,000 users prior to the verification were introduced. However, the regulator noted that VPN usage has afterwards decreased, with current figures standing at approximately 900,000. It added that the level of regular VPN use is “much lower” than user numbers for adult sites.
Teenagers Taking Action to Harmful Online Content
In other findings, the regulator's annual study revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing damaging content on the internet. Actions ranged from flagging the content to the platform to blocking the person who posted it.
This research was carried out before new rules took effect that require social media companies to prevent children from seeing harmful content, such as material related to self-harm and pornography. The primary way teenagers came across such content was by scrolling through a social media timeline, indicating that recommendation systems were serving inappropriate material.
Ministers Launch Examination of Adult Content Laws
Separately, the ministers stated it would examine the legislation relating to pornography to consider whether it is “fit for purpose” in the ever-developing online world.
“The review will look into the efficacy of the existing law in relation to making illegal, among other things, harmful portrayals of familial abuse and any types of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” stated a government official.
Advocates Call For Tighter Online Regulations
Advocates for better regulation of adult content have called on the authorities to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that encourages child sexual abuse by using youthful performers portraying children.
Suggested changes to legislation aim to:
- Ban pornography where performers are impersonating children, sometimes recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the crime of creating an indecent image of a child to cover material where an adult plays the role of a child.
- Introduce stricter regulation on familial abuse pornography, which studies indicates is often promoted by site algorithms.
- Add further restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to possess software designed to generate non-consensual nude images.
- Establish a new, independent oversight agency to conduct inspections on pornography sites and respond to reports of illegal content.
The campaigners argue that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for decades in the physical world finally apply to the digital age.
