British Pornography Traffic Declines Following Age Verifications, Yet VPN Use Spikes, States Regulator
Traffic to pornography sites in the UK has decreased markedly since the enforcement of age-checking measures earlier this year, according to the country's communications authority. Concurrently, the adoption of specialist software designed to bypass these blocks has surged.
Sharp Fall in User Numbers Following Law Enforcement
The introduction of age vetting on 25 July led to an swift decline in traffic to popular pornography sites, such as the top site in the UK. Data indicates that visitor numbers to this site in August reached 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.
In total, traffic to the 10 most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a markedly decreased volume than before the end-of-July deadline. Later analysis suggests this slump in site visits persisted past August.
Sharp Increase in VPN Adoption to Bypass Checks
Reacting to the new regulations, adoption of VPN software—which can get around location-based restrictions by masking internet traffic through another nation—more than doubled after 25 July.
User numbers peaked at over 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from around 650,000 users prior to the checks began. However, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has since steadily declined, with latest numbers standing at around 900,000. It clarified that the volume of regular VPN use is “much lower” than user numbers for adult sites.
Teenagers Taking Action to Damaging Online Content
Elsewhere, the watchdog's report found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing distressing content online. Actions ranged from flagging the content to the platform to muting the person who posted it.
This research was carried out before new regulations came into force that compel platforms to prevent children from accessing dangerous content, such as material related to self-harm and pornography. The primary way young people encountered such content was by looking through a platform timeline, suggesting that algorithms were serving harmful material.
Government Announce Review of Adult Content Laws
Separately, the ministers announced it would review the criminal law governing pornography to consider whether it is “fit for purpose” in the ever-developing online world.
“The examination will investigate the efficacy of the current law in relation to making illegal, among other things, damaging depictions of familial abuse and any types of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” said a justice minister.
Campaigners Push For Tighter Digital Controls
Campaigners for better regulation of online pornography have called on the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages abuse by using young-looking performers portraying children.
Proposed changes to government bills aim to:
- Prohibit pornography where performers are impersonating children, often filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the offence of making an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an adult plays the role of a child.
- Introduce stricter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which research suggests is often promoted by platform algorithms.
- Introduce additional controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to possess tools designed to create private images without permission.
- Create a new, separate oversight agency to perform spot checks on adult platforms and act on reports of illegal content.
The campaigners contend that these steps would ensure the protections that have existed for decades in the physical world finally are extended to the online sphere.
