British Pornography Traffic Declines After Age Verifications, Yet VPN Usage Spikes, States Watchdog
Visitor numbers to pornography websites in the UK has fallen significantly since the roll-out of mandatory age verification earlier this year, according to the country's communications authority. Simultaneously, the adoption of tools designed to dodge these restrictions has surged.
Immediate Drop in User Numbers Following Rule Enforcement
The enforcement of age verification on 25 July caused an immediate reduction in traffic to major online adult platforms, including the most visited provider in the UK. Data reveals that visitor numbers to this site in August were 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024.
Overall, traffic to the 10 top pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a “lower level” than before the end-of-July implementation date. Subsequent analysis indicates this decline in site visits persisted past August.
Surge in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Bypass Checks
In response to the new rules, use of VPN software—which can bypass geographic blocks by masking internet traffic via another nation—surged following 25 July.
Usage reached a high at over 1.4 million in mid-August, up from approximately 650,000 people prior to the checks were introduced. Subsequently, the regulator noted that VPN usage has since decreased, with current numbers at approximately 900,000. It added that the level of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for adult services.
Teenagers Taking Action to Damaging Online Content
Elsewhere, the watchdog's report revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering distressing content on the internet. Steps taken ranged from flagging the content to the site to muting the person who shared it.
This survey was carried out prior to new rules took effect that require social media companies to prevent children from accessing dangerous content, such as material related to self-harm and pornography. The primary way young people came across such content was by scrolling through a social media timeline, indicating that recommendation systems were showing harmful material.
Government Launch Review of Pornography Legislation
Separately, the ministers stated it would review the criminal law relating to pornography to assess whether it is adequate in the modern digital age.
“The examination will look into the effectiveness of the current law in relation to making illegal, for example, harmful portrayals of familial abuse and any types of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” said a government official.
Campaigners Push For Stricter Online Regulations
Advocates for tighter control of online pornography have called on the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring incest scenes or that encourages child sexual abuse by using youthful adults portraying children.
Suggested amendments to legislation aim to:
- Ban pornography where adults are mimicking children, sometimes recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the crime of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an adult plays the role of a child.
- Apply stricter regulation on familial abuse pornography, which research indicates is heavily recommended by platform systems.
- Add additional restrictions on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to own tools designed to create non-consensual nude images.
- Establish a new, separate regulatory body to conduct spot checks on pornography sites and respond to complaints of unlawful content.
The advocates contend that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for years offline finally are extended to the online sphere.