UK Adult Content Traffic Declines After Identity Verifications, But Virtual Private Network Usage Spikes, Reports Watchdog
Visitor numbers to pornography sites in the United Kingdom has fallen significantly since the introduction of age-checking measures this summer, as reported by the country's communications regulator. Simultaneously, the adoption of specialist software designed to circumvent these barriers has risen.
Sharp Fall in User Figures After Law Implementation
The introduction of age vetting on 25 July caused an prompt decline in visits to major online adult platforms, including the most visited site in the UK. Data shows that user traffic to this site 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 stabilized at a significantly reduced level than before the late July deadline. Later analysis suggests this slump in viewing continued beyond August.
Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Evade Checks
Reacting to the new rules, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can bypass geographic blocks by routing connections via another country—increased dramatically following 25 July.
Usage reached a high at over 1.4 million in mid-August, up from around 650,000 users before the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has afterwards fallen back, with latest numbers at around 900,000. It clarified that the level of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for pornography services.
Teenagers Responding to Damaging Material
In other findings, the watchdog's report found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering harmful content online. Actions included reporting the content to the site to muting the user who shared it.
This survey was conducted prior to new regulations came into force that compel social media companies to stop children from accessing harmful content, including material related to suicide and pornography. The most common way teenagers came across such content was by scrolling through a platform feed, indicating that recommendation systems were serving harmful material.
Government Announce Examination of Adult Content Laws
Separately, the government stated it would review the criminal law relating to pornography to consider whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern online world.
“The examination will investigate the effectiveness of the current law in relation to criminalising, among other things, damaging depictions of familial abuse and any types of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” stated a government official.
Campaigners Push For Stricter Online Controls
Campaigners for tighter regulation of online pornography have urged the government to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that encourages child sexual abuse by using young-looking adults dressed as children.
Suggested changes to government bills aim to:
- Ban pornography where performers are mimicking children, sometimes filmed in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the offence of creating an indecent image of a child to cover material where an adult plays the role of a child.
- Introduce stricter controls on incest-themed pornography, which studies suggests is often promoted by site systems.
- Add additional controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to own tools designed to generate private images without permission.
- Establish a new, separate oversight agency to perform spot checks on adult platforms and respond to complaints of illegal content.
The campaigners argue that these measures would ensure the protections that have existed for years offline finally are extended to the digital age.
