British Pornography Traffic Declines Following Identity Checks, But Virtual Private Network Usage Surges, States Watchdog
Visitor numbers to pornography websites in the United Kingdom has decreased markedly after the enforcement of mandatory age verification earlier this year, according to the nation's communications regulator. Concurrently, the usage of tools designed to dodge these blocks has risen.
Sharp Drop in User Figures After Rule Enforcement
The enforcement of age verification on 25 July led to an prompt fall in traffic to popular pornography sites, such as the leading site in the UK. Data reveals that user traffic to this platform in August reached 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.
Overall, visitor numbers to the ten most-visited adult services in the UK have now stabilized at a significantly reduced level than before the late July deadline. Later analysis shows this decline in site visits persisted beyond August.
Sharp Increase in VPN Usage to Bypass Checks
In response to the new rules, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can get around geographic blocks by masking connections via another nation—increased dramatically after 25 July.
Usage reached a high at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from approximately 650,000 users before the checks were introduced. Subsequently, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has afterwards decreased, with latest figures at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the volume of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for pornography sites.
Young People Taking Action to Damaging Online Content
In other findings, the watchdog's report revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering harmful 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 regulations took effect that require social media companies to prevent children from accessing dangerous content, including material related to suicide and pornography. The most common way young people came across such content was by looking through a social media timeline, suggesting that algorithms were serving harmful material.
Ministers Launch Review of Adult Content Legislation
In a related development, the government announced it would examine the legislation governing pornography to consider whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern online world.
“The review will investigate the efficacy of the existing law in regarding making illegal, for example, damaging depictions of incest and any forms of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” said a justice minister.
Campaigners Call For Tighter Digital Regulations
Campaigners for better regulation of online pornography have urged the authorities to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that encourages child sexual abuse by casting young-looking performers portraying children.
Suggested amendments to legislation seek to:
- Ban pornography where adults are impersonating children, often recorded in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the crime of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an older performer plays the role of a child.
- Introduce tighter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which studies suggests is heavily recommended by platform algorithms.
- Add 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 unlawful content.
The advocates argue that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have existed for decades in the physical world finally are extended to the digital age.
