UK Pornography Traffic Falls After Age Checks, Yet VPN Usage Spikes, States Regulator
Visitor numbers to adult content platforms in the United Kingdom has fallen significantly after the enforcement of mandatory age verification this summer, according to the country's communications regulator. Concurrently, the use of tools designed to circumvent these barriers has risen.
Immediate Drop in Visitor Figures Following Law Implementation
The enforcement of age verification on 25 July caused an swift decline in visits to leading online adult platforms, including the most visited provider in the UK. Figures reveals that visitor numbers to this site in August stood at 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.
In total, traffic to the 10 top pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a markedly decreased volume than before the late July implementation date. Later analysis suggests this downward trend in site visits continued beyond August.
Surge in VPN Usage to Evade Restrictions
In response to the new rules, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can bypass geographic blocks by routing connections through another nation—more than doubled following 25 July.
Usage peaked at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from around 650,000 people before the checks began. However, the regulator noted that VPN usage has since fallen back, with latest figures at around 900,000. It added that the volume of daily VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for pornography sites.
Teenagers Responding to Damaging Online Content
Elsewhere, the watchdog's annual study found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering harmful content online. Steps taken ranged from reporting the content to the platform to muting the user who posted it.
This survey was conducted prior to new regulations took effect that compel platforms to stop children from accessing dangerous content, including material related to self-harm and adult material. The most common way young people encountered such content was by looking through a platform timeline, suggesting that recommendation systems were showing inappropriate material.
Ministers Launch Examination of Pornography Laws
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 efficacy of the current law in regarding criminalising, for example, damaging depictions of incest and any types of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” said a government official.
Advocates Push For Stricter Online Controls
Campaigners for tighter control of online pornography have urged the authorities to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages abuse by using young-looking adults portraying children.
Proposed amendments to government bills seek to:
- Prohibit pornography where performers are mimicking children, sometimes filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the crime of making an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an adult plays the role of a child.
- Introduce tighter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which research suggests is often promoted by site algorithms.
- Introduce additional controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to possess software designed to generate private images without permission.
- Establish a new, separate regulatory body to conduct spot checks on adult platforms and respond to reports of illegal content.
The campaigners argue that these measures would ensure the protections that have been enforced for decades in the physical world finally are extended to the online sphere.
