British Pornography Traffic Declines Following Identity Verifications, But Virtual Private Network Use Surges, States Watchdog
Visitor numbers to adult content platforms in the United Kingdom has decreased markedly since the introduction of age-checking measures this summer, according to the country's communications authority. At the same time, the usage of tools designed to dodge these restrictions has risen.
Immediate Drop in Visitor Figures Following Law Enforcement
The introduction of age verification on 25 July resulted in an prompt fall in traffic to popular online adult platforms, including the most visited provider in the UK. Figures reveals that user traffic to this platform in August reached 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million compared to the same period in 2024.
Overall, visitor numbers to the ten most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a significantly reduced level than before the late July implementation date. Later data shows this downward trend in viewing persisted beyond August.
Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Evade Restrictions
Reacting to the new regulations, use of VPN software—which can bypass location-based blocks by routing connections via another nation—increased dramatically after 25 July.
User numbers reached a high at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from approximately 650,000 users before the verification were introduced. However, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has afterwards decreased, with current numbers at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the level of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for adult sites.
Young People Responding to Damaging Material
Elsewhere, the watchdog's report revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering harmful content on the internet. Actions ranged from flagging the material to the platform to blocking the person who shared it.
This research was carried out prior to new regulations took effect that compel social media companies to stop children from accessing dangerous content, including material related to self-harm and adult material. The most common way young people came across such content was by looking through a platform feed, indicating that algorithms were showing inappropriate material.
Ministers Announce Examination of Adult Content Legislation
Separately, the government announced it would review the criminal law relating to pornography to consider whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern digital age.
“The examination will investigate the effectiveness of the current law in relation to making illegal, for example, harmful portrayals of familial abuse and any types of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” said a justice minister.
Campaigners Call For Stricter Online Regulations
Campaigners for tighter 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 using young-looking adults dressed as children.
Proposed amendments to government bills aim to:
- Prohibit pornography where performers are impersonating children, sometimes filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the offence of making an indecent image of a child to cover material where an older performer plays the role of a child.
- Introduce tighter controls on familial abuse pornography, which research suggests is often promoted by platform algorithms.
- Introduce further restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to own software designed to generate non-consensual nude images.
- Establish a new, independent regulatory body to perform inspections on pornography sites and act on complaints of unlawful content.
The advocates argue that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for years offline finally apply to the online sphere.
