British Pornography Traffic Falls Following Age Checks, Yet VPN Use Surges, Reports Watchdog
Access to adult content sites in the UK has decreased markedly after the roll-out of mandatory age verification earlier this year, according to the country's communications watchdog. At the same time, the adoption of tools designed to dodge these restrictions has surged.
Sharp Fall in Visitor Numbers Following Rule Implementation
The introduction of age verification on 25 July led to an immediate fall in visits to leading online adult platforms, such as the most visited site in the UK. Figures indicates that visitor numbers to this platform in August reached 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.
In total, visitor numbers to the ten top pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a markedly decreased volume than before the late July deadline. Subsequent data suggests this slump in site visits continued past August.
Sharp Increase in VPN Usage to Evade Restrictions
In response to the new regulations, use of VPN software—which can circumvent geographic blocks by routing internet traffic via another nation—more than doubled after 25 July.
User numbers peaked at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from approximately 650,000 people before the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the regulator stated that VPN usage has since decreased, with current figures at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the volume of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for adult sites.
Teenagers Taking Action to Damaging Online Content
Elsewhere, the regulator's report revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing distressing content online. Steps taken ranged from reporting the material to the platform to blocking the user who posted it.
This research was conducted before new regulations came into force that compel social media companies to prevent children from accessing dangerous content, such as material related to suicide and adult material. The most common way teenagers encountered such content was by scrolling through a social media timeline, suggesting that recommendation systems were showing inappropriate material.
Ministers Launch Review of Adult Content Legislation
Separately, the government announced it would review the legislation relating to pornography to consider whether it is effective in the modern digital age.
“The review will look into the efficacy of the existing law in relation to making illegal, for example, harmful depictions of incest and any forms of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” said a justice minister.
Campaigners Push For Tighter Online Controls
Advocates for tighter control of online pornography have urged the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote abuse by casting young-looking adults dressed as children.
Proposed amendments to government bills seek to:
- Prohibit pornography where adults are impersonating children, sometimes recorded in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the crime of creating an indecent image of a child to include material where an adult plays the role of a child.
- Introduce tighter controls on familial abuse pornography, which research suggests is often promoted by site algorithms.
- Introduce additional restrictions on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to possess tools designed to generate non-consensual nude images.
- Create a new, independent regulatory body to conduct inspections on adult platforms and respond to complaints of unlawful content.
The campaigners argue that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for years offline finally are extended to the online sphere.
