British Pornography Traffic Falls After Age Verifications, But VPN Use Surges, States Regulator
Access to pornography websites in the United Kingdom has decreased markedly since the roll-out of mandatory age verification this summer, according to the nation's communications regulator. Concurrently, the use of specialist software designed to bypass these blocks has increased.
Sharp Fall in User Figures After Law Enforcement
The introduction of age vetting on 25 July caused an immediate reduction in traffic to major online adult platforms, such as the leading 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 compared to the same period in 2024.
Overall, visitor numbers to the 10 top pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a markedly decreased volume than prior to the late July implementation date. Later data indicates this downward trend in site visits persisted beyond August.
Sharp Increase in VPN Usage to Bypass Restrictions
Reacting to the new rules, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can get around location-based restrictions by masking connections through another nation—surged after 25 July.
User numbers peaked at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from around 650,000 people prior to the checks began. However, the regulator noted that VPN usage has since fallen back, with latest figures at approximately 900,000. It added that the volume of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for adult sites.
Teenagers Responding to Harmful Material
In other findings, the watchdog's report found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering harmful content on the internet. Steps taken ranged from flagging the content to the site to blocking the user who shared it.
This survey was carried out prior to new regulations took effect that compel social media companies to prevent children from seeing dangerous content, such as material related to self-harm and pornography. The primary way teenagers came across such content was by looking through a platform feed, suggesting that recommendation systems were showing harmful material.
Ministers Launch Examination of Adult Content Legislation
In a related development, the ministers stated it would review the legislation relating to pornography to consider whether it is effective in the ever-developing digital age.
“The review will investigate the efficacy of the current law in regarding making illegal, for example, harmful portrayals of familial abuse and any types of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” stated a justice minister.
Campaigners Call For Tighter Digital Regulations
Campaigners for better control of online pornography have urged the government to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages abuse by using young-looking adults dressed as children.
Proposed amendments to government bills seek to:
- Ban pornography where adults are mimicking children, sometimes recorded in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the crime of making an indecent image of a child to include material where an adult plays the role of a child.
- Apply tighter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which studies indicates is often promoted by site systems.
- Add additional restrictions on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to own tools designed to generate non-consensual nude images.
- Create a new, separate oversight agency to perform spot checks on pornography sites and respond to complaints of illegal content.
The advocates contend that these steps would ensure the protections that have existed for decades in the physical world finally are extended to the online sphere.
