British Pornography Traffic Falls Following Identity Checks, But Virtual Private Network Use Spikes, Reports Watchdog
Access to pornography platforms in the UK has decreased markedly since the introduction of age-checking measures earlier this year, according to the nation's communications watchdog. Simultaneously, the use of tools designed to bypass these restrictions has increased.
Immediate Fall in Visitor Figures Following Rule Implementation
The enforcement of age verification on 25 July resulted in an immediate reduction in traffic to popular online adult platforms, including the leading site in the UK. Figures shows that user traffic to this site in August reached 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million compared to the same period in 2024.
In total, visitor numbers to the ten most-visited adult services in the UK have now settled at a significantly reduced level than before the late July implementation date. Subsequent analysis shows this downward trend in site visits continued beyond August.
Surge in Virtual Private Network Usage to Evade Restrictions
Reacting to the new regulations, use of VPN software—which can circumvent geographic restrictions by routing connections through another nation—increased dramatically after 25 July.
Usage peaked at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from approximately 650,000 people before the checks began. However, the regulator noted that VPN usage has since decreased, with current numbers standing at around 900,000. It clarified that the level of regular VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for pornography sites.
Teenagers Taking Action to Harmful Online Content
Elsewhere, the watchdog's annual study revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering damaging content online. Steps taken included reporting the material to the platform to blocking the person who posted it.
This survey was conducted before new regulations took effect that compel platforms to stop children from accessing dangerous content, such as material related to suicide and adult material. The most common way young people came across such content was by scrolling through a platform feed, suggesting that recommendation systems were serving harmful material.
Government Launch Review of Pornography Legislation
In a related development, the government announced it would review the legislation relating to pornography to consider whether it is effective in the modern online world.
“The examination will look into the efficacy of the current law in regarding criminalising, among other things, harmful depictions of familial abuse and any forms of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” said a government official.
Campaigners Call For Tighter Digital Regulations
Advocates for better regulation of adult content have urged the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages abuse by casting youthful performers portraying children.
Proposed amendments to government bills aim to:
- Ban pornography where performers are mimicking children, sometimes filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the offence of making an indecent image of a child to include material where an adult acts the part of a child.
- Apply stricter regulation on familial abuse pornography, which research suggests is often promoted by platform algorithms.
- Add further controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to possess tools designed to generate private images without permission.
- Establish a new, independent regulatory body to conduct spot checks on adult platforms and act on complaints of unlawful content.
The campaigners contend that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have existed for years in the physical world finally are extended to the digital age.
