British Pornography Traffic Falls After Age Checks, Yet VPN Usage Spikes, Reports Regulator
Access to pornography platforms in the United Kingdom has seen a notable drop after the enforcement of mandatory age verification earlier this year, according to the nation's communications watchdog. Simultaneously, the use of specialist software designed to circumvent these restrictions has risen.
Immediate Fall in User Numbers Following Rule Implementation
The introduction of age verification on 25 July caused an swift fall in visits to popular online adult platforms, such as the most visited site in the UK. Figures shows that visitor numbers to this site in August were 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million compared to the equivalent month in 2024.
In total, visitor numbers to the ten top pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a significantly reduced level than before the late July deadline. Later analysis shows this slump in viewing persisted beyond August.
Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Evade Checks
In response to the new regulations, use of VPN software—which can get around location-based blocks by routing internet traffic via another country—more than doubled after 25 July.
Usage peaked at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from around 650,000 people before the checks were introduced. However, the regulator stated that VPN usage has afterwards fallen back, with latest numbers standing at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the volume of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for adult services.
Young People Responding to Harmful Material
Elsewhere, the watchdog's report revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing harmful content on the internet. Steps taken included flagging the material to the platform to muting the person who posted it.
This research was conducted prior to new rules came into force that require platforms to prevent children from accessing dangerous content, including material related to self-harm and adult material. The primary way teenagers came across such content was by scrolling through a platform feed, indicating that algorithms were serving harmful material.
Ministers Launch Examination of Pornography Laws
In a related development, the ministers stated it would review the legislation governing pornography to assess whether it is “fit for purpose” in the ever-developing digital age.
“The review will look into the effectiveness of the current law in regarding making illegal, among other things, damaging portrayals of familial abuse and any forms of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” stated a justice minister.
Advocates Call For Stricter Digital Controls
Campaigners for better control of adult content have called on the authorities to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages child sexual abuse by using young-looking performers dressed as children.
Suggested amendments to legislation aim to:
- Ban pornography where performers are impersonating children, sometimes filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the crime of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an adult plays the role of a child.
- Introduce stricter regulation on familial abuse pornography, which research indicates is often promoted by platform systems.
- Introduce further controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to own software designed to generate non-consensual nude images.
- Create a new, separate regulatory body to perform inspections on adult platforms and act on complaints of illegal content.
The campaigners argue that these measures would ensure the protections that have been enforced for years offline finally apply to the digital age.
