British Pornography Traffic Declines Following Identity Verifications, But VPN Use Surges, Reports Watchdog
Access to adult content sites in the UK has seen a notable drop after the roll-out of mandatory age verification this summer, according to the nation's communications authority. Concurrently, the usage of tools designed to circumvent these barriers has increased.
Immediate Fall in User Numbers Following Rule Enforcement
The introduction of age verification on 25 July resulted in an prompt fall in traffic to popular pornography sites, such as the top provider in the UK. Data shows that visitor numbers to this platform in August stood at 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.
In total, visitor numbers to the 10 most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a significantly reduced level than before the end-of-July deadline. Later data indicates this slump in site visits continued past August.
Surge in Virtual Private Network Usage to Bypass Checks
In response to the new rules, use of VPN software—which can get around location-based restrictions by routing internet traffic via another nation—increased dramatically following 25 July.
User numbers reached a high at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from around 650,000 people prior to the checks were introduced. Subsequently, the regulator stated that VPN usage has afterwards fallen back, with latest numbers standing at around 900,000. It added that the level of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for adult sites.
Teenagers Taking Action to Damaging Material
In other findings, the watchdog's annual study revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering damaging content online. Actions included reporting the content to the platform to blocking the user who shared it.
This survey was conducted prior to new regulations took effect that require platforms to stop children from accessing harmful content, such as material related to suicide and adult material. The primary way teenagers came across such content was by looking through a platform feed, suggesting that recommendation systems were serving inappropriate material.
Ministers Launch Review of Adult Content Legislation
In a related development, the government stated it would examine the criminal law governing pornography to consider whether it is adequate in the ever-developing digital age.
“The examination will look into the efficacy of the existing law in relation to criminalising, among other things, harmful portrayals of familial abuse and any types of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” said a government official.
Advocates Call For Stricter Online Regulations
Advocates for better control of adult content have called on the government to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote child sexual abuse by casting youthful performers portraying children.
Suggested changes to legislation seek to:
- Prohibit pornography where performers are impersonating children, often recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the crime of making an indecent image of a child to cover material where an adult acts the part of a child.
- Introduce tighter controls on incest-themed pornography, which research indicates is heavily recommended by site systems.
- Add additional controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to own tools designed to generate non-consensual nude images.
- Create a new, independent oversight agency to conduct spot checks on adult platforms and act on reports of unlawful content.
The campaigners contend that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have existed for decades in the physical world finally are extended to the online sphere.
