🔗 Share this article UK Pornography Traffic Falls Following Age Checks, Yet VPN Use Spikes, States Regulator Traffic to adult content platforms in the United Kingdom has fallen significantly since the roll-out of mandatory age verification this summer, as reported by the country's communications watchdog. Simultaneously, the usage of tools designed to bypass these restrictions has increased. Immediate Drop in Visitor Numbers Following Rule Implementation The enforcement of age verification on 25 July caused an immediate decline in visits to major pornography sites, including the top provider in the UK. Data shows that user traffic to this platform in August were 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024. In total, visitor numbers to the 10 top adult services in the UK have now settled at a significantly reduced level than prior to the end-of-July deadline. Later analysis indicates this downward trend in viewing continued past August. Surge in Virtual Private Network Usage to Bypass Restrictions Reacting to the new rules, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can bypass location-based blocks by masking internet traffic through another country—more than doubled following 25 July. Usage peaked at over 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from around 650,000 users prior to the checks began. Subsequently, the regulator noted that VPN usage has since steadily declined, with current figures standing at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the level of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for pornography sites. Young People Taking Action to Harmful Material In other findings, the watchdog's report found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing harmful content online. Actions included flagging the material to the site to blocking the person who shared it. This research was conducted prior to new regulations came into force that require social media companies to stop children from seeing harmful content, including material related to self-harm and adult material. The primary way teenagers came across such content was by looking through a platform feed, indicating that recommendation systems were serving harmful material. Government Announce Examination of Adult Content Laws In a related development, the ministers announced it would examine the criminal law governing pornography to consider whether it is adequate in the ever-developing digital age. “The review will investigate the effectiveness of the existing law in regarding criminalising, for example, harmful depictions of incest and any forms of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” stated a justice minister. Campaigners Push For Tighter Digital Controls Campaigners for tighter regulation of online pornography have called on the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that encourages abuse by using young-looking performers portraying children. Suggested amendments to legislation aim to: Ban pornography where adults are impersonating children, often filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms. Broaden the crime of creating 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 algorithms. Add further restrictions on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to own software designed to create non-consensual nude images. Establish a new, independent oversight agency to conduct spot checks on pornography sites and respond to complaints of illegal content. The campaigners argue that these measures would ensure the protections that have existed for years offline finally apply to the digital age.
Traffic to adult content platforms in the United Kingdom has fallen significantly since the roll-out of mandatory age verification this summer, as reported by the country's communications watchdog. Simultaneously, the usage of tools designed to bypass these restrictions has increased. Immediate Drop in Visitor Numbers Following Rule Implementation The enforcement of age verification on 25 July caused an immediate decline in visits to major pornography sites, including the top provider in the UK. Data shows that user traffic to this platform in August were 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024. In total, visitor numbers to the 10 top adult services in the UK have now settled at a significantly reduced level than prior to the end-of-July deadline. Later analysis indicates this downward trend in viewing continued past August. Surge in Virtual Private Network Usage to Bypass Restrictions Reacting to the new rules, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can bypass location-based blocks by masking internet traffic through another country—more than doubled following 25 July. Usage peaked at over 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from around 650,000 users prior to the checks began. Subsequently, the regulator noted that VPN usage has since steadily declined, with current figures standing at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the level of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for pornography sites. Young People Taking Action to Harmful Material In other findings, the watchdog's report found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing harmful content online. Actions included flagging the material to the site to blocking the person who shared it. This research was conducted prior to new regulations came into force that require social media companies to stop children from seeing harmful content, including material related to self-harm and adult material. The primary way teenagers came across such content was by looking through a platform feed, indicating that recommendation systems were serving harmful material. Government Announce Examination of Adult Content Laws In a related development, the ministers announced it would examine the criminal law governing pornography to consider whether it is adequate in the ever-developing digital age. “The review will investigate the effectiveness of the existing law in regarding criminalising, for example, harmful depictions of incest and any forms of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” stated a justice minister. Campaigners Push For Tighter Digital Controls Campaigners for tighter regulation of online pornography have called on the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that encourages abuse by using young-looking performers portraying children. Suggested amendments to legislation aim to: Ban pornography where adults are impersonating children, often filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms. Broaden the crime of creating 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 algorithms. Add further restrictions on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to own software designed to create non-consensual nude images. Establish a new, independent oversight agency to conduct spot checks on pornography sites and respond to complaints of illegal content. The campaigners argue that these measures would ensure the protections that have existed for years offline finally apply to the digital age.