British Pornography Traffic Declines After Age Verifications, But VPN Use Spikes, Reports Regulator
Visitor numbers to adult content websites in the United Kingdom has seen a notable drop after the enforcement of mandatory age verification this summer, as reported by the nation's communications watchdog. Simultaneously, the usage of tools designed to bypass these blocks has increased.
Sharp Fall in Visitor Figures After Law Implementation
The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July caused an immediate decline in traffic to major online adult platforms, including the leading site in the UK. Data shows that visitor numbers to this platform in August reached 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.
Overall, traffic to the 10 top pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a significantly reduced level than prior to the late July deadline. Subsequent data suggests this slump in site visits persisted past August.
Sharp Increase in VPN Usage to Bypass Checks
Reacting to the new rules, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can circumvent location-based blocks by masking connections via another country—increased dramatically following 25 July.
User numbers reached a high at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from approximately 650,000 people before the verification were introduced. However, the regulator stated that VPN usage has since decreased, with latest numbers at approximately 900,000. It added that the level of daily VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for pornography sites.
Young People Taking Action to Harmful Online Content
In other findings, the watchdog's annual study found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering damaging content online. Actions ranged from flagging the content to the site to muting the user who shared it.
This survey was conducted before new regulations took effect that require social media companies to stop children from seeing dangerous content, including material related to suicide and pornography. The primary way young people came across such content was by scrolling through a platform feed, suggesting that algorithms were serving harmful material.
Ministers Launch Examination of Pornography Laws
In a related development, the government stated it would examine the legislation relating to pornography to consider whether it is effective in the modern online world.
“The review will look into the effectiveness of the existing law in relation to making illegal, among other things, damaging portrayals of incest and any forms of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” said a government official.
Campaigners Call For Tighter Digital Regulations
Campaigners for tighter control of adult content have called on the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote abuse by casting young-looking performers portraying children.
Proposed amendments to government bills seek to:
- Prohibit pornography where adults are mimicking children, sometimes filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the offence of creating an indecent image of a child to include material where an older performer acts the part of a child.
- Introduce tighter controls on incest-themed pornography, which studies suggests is heavily recommended by site systems.
- Introduce further restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to own software designed to create private images without permission.
- Create a new, independent regulatory body to conduct inspections on pornography sites and respond to reports of illegal content.
The campaigners contend that these steps would ensure the protections that have been enforced for years offline finally are extended to the digital age.
