UK Pornography Traffic Declines After Age Checks, But VPN Usage Surges, States Regulator
Traffic to adult content sites in the UK has decreased markedly after the introduction of mandatory age verification this summer, according to the country's communications regulator. Simultaneously, the adoption of specialist software designed to circumvent these blocks has risen.
Sharp Fall in Visitor Figures Following Law Enforcement
The enforcement of age verification on 25 July resulted in an immediate decline in traffic to leading online adult platforms, including the top provider in the UK. Data shows that visitor numbers to this platform in August were 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million compared to the same period in 2024.
In total, traffic to the ten most-visited adult services in the UK have now settled at a significantly reduced level than prior to the late July deadline. Later analysis indicates this downward trend in site visits continued beyond August.
Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Bypass Checks
Reacting to the new rules, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can get around geographic restrictions by routing connections through another country—surged after 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 began. Subsequently, the regulator noted that VPN usage has since fallen back, with latest numbers standing at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the volume of regular VPN use is “much lower” than user numbers for adult sites.
Young People Responding to Damaging Online Content
Elsewhere, the regulator's report found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing damaging content on the internet. Actions ranged from flagging the content to the platform to muting the person who shared it.
This survey was carried out prior to new rules took effect that require platforms to prevent children from accessing dangerous content, including material related to suicide and pornography. The primary way teenagers came across such content was by looking through a social media timeline, indicating that algorithms were serving harmful material.
Government Announce Review of Adult Content Laws
Separately, the government stated it would review the legislation governing pornography to consider whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern online world.
“The examination will look into the effectiveness of the existing law in regarding criminalising, among other things, damaging portrayals of incest and any types of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” said a justice minister.
Advocates Push For Stricter Digital Regulations
Campaigners for tighter control of online pornography have urged the authorities to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages abuse by casting youthful adults portraying children.
Proposed amendments to government bills seek to:
- Prohibit pornography where adults are impersonating children, sometimes recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the crime of making an indecent image of a child to cover material where an adult plays the role of a child.
- Apply tighter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which research suggests is heavily recommended by platform algorithms.
- Add further restrictions on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to possess software designed to generate private images without permission.
- Establish a new, independent regulatory body to conduct inspections on adult platforms and respond to complaints of illegal content.
The campaigners argue that these measures would ensure the protections that have been enforced for years offline finally apply to the online sphere.
