UK Pornography Traffic Falls After Age Verifications, Yet Virtual Private Network Use Spikes, States Watchdog
Traffic to pornography websites in the United Kingdom has seen a notable drop since the introduction of age-checking measures earlier this year, as reported by the country's communications watchdog. Simultaneously, the usage of tools designed to bypass these restrictions has increased.
Sharp Drop in Visitor Figures Following Law Enforcement
The introduction of age vetting on 25 July resulted in an swift reduction in visits to major online adult platforms, including the most visited site in the UK. Figures reveals that visitor numbers to this platform in August reached 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million compared to the same period in 2024.
Overall, traffic to the 10 top adult services in the UK have now settled at a “lower level” than prior to the end-of-July implementation date. Later analysis suggests this slump in viewing persisted beyond August.
Surge in Virtual Private Network Usage to Bypass Checks
Reacting to the new rules, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can circumvent location-based restrictions by masking connections via another nation—more than doubled after 25 July.
User numbers reached a high at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from around 650,000 people prior to the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has since fallen back, with latest figures standing at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the volume of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for pornography sites.
Teenagers Taking Action to Harmful Material
In other findings, 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 flagging the content to the site to muting the person who posted it.
This research was carried out prior to new regulations came into force that require platforms to prevent children from accessing harmful content, including material related to suicide and pornography. The most common way young people encountered such content was by scrolling through a platform timeline, indicating that algorithms were serving inappropriate material.
Government Launch Examination of Adult Content Legislation
Separately, the ministers announced it would review the criminal law relating to pornography to consider whether it is adequate in the ever-developing digital age.
“The examination will investigate the effectiveness of the current law in regarding criminalising, for example, damaging portrayals of familial abuse and any forms of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” stated a justice minister.
Campaigners Push For Stricter Digital Controls
Campaigners for tighter control of online pornography have called on the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages abuse by using young-looking performers dressed as children.
Suggested changes to government bills aim to:
- Ban pornography where adults are impersonating children, often recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the offence of creating an indecent image of a child to include material where an adult acts the part of a child.
- Introduce stricter regulation on familial abuse pornography, which studies suggests is often promoted by platform algorithms.
- Add additional restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to possess tools designed to create non-consensual nude images.
- Create a new, separate regulatory body to conduct inspections on adult platforms and act on complaints of illegal content.
The campaigners argue that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for decades in the physical world finally apply to the online sphere.
