UK Pornography Traffic Falls Following Identity Checks, Yet Virtual Private Network Usage Surges, States Regulator
Access to pornography sites in the United Kingdom has decreased markedly since the enforcement of mandatory age verification earlier this year, as reported by the nation's communications regulator. Simultaneously, the adoption of tools designed to dodge these blocks has surged.
Immediate Fall in User Figures After Rule Implementation
The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July led to an swift reduction in traffic to leading online adult platforms, including the top site in the UK. Figures indicates that visitor numbers to this site in August reached 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million compared to the equivalent month in 2024.
In total, traffic to the ten most-visited adult services in the UK have now stabilized at a markedly decreased volume than before the late July deadline. Subsequent analysis shows this downward trend in viewing persisted beyond August.
Surge in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Evade Restrictions
Reacting to the new rules, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can bypass location-based blocks by routing connections through another nation—more than doubled following 25 July.
Usage peaked at over 1.4 million in mid-August, up from approximately 650,000 users prior to the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the regulator noted that VPN usage has since steadily declined, with current numbers standing at around 900,000. It added that the level of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for adult sites.
Young People Taking Action to Harmful Material
Elsewhere, the regulator's report revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering damaging content on the internet. Steps taken included flagging the material to the site to muting the person who shared it.
This research was carried out before new rules took effect that compel platforms to prevent children from seeing harmful content, such as material related to suicide and pornography. The most common way teenagers encountered such content was by looking through a platform timeline, indicating that recommendation systems were showing inappropriate material.
Government Announce Review of Adult Content Legislation
Separately, the ministers announced it would examine the criminal law governing pornography to assess whether it is effective in the ever-developing online world.
“The examination will look into the effectiveness of the current law in regarding making illegal, among other things, harmful depictions of familial abuse and any types of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” said a justice minister.
Advocates Push For Tighter Digital Regulations
Advocates for better regulation of online pornography have called on the government to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages abuse by using youthful adults portraying children.
Proposed amendments to government bills aim to:
- Prohibit pornography where adults are mimicking children, often recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the offence of making an indecent image of a child to cover material where an older performer plays the role of a child.
- Introduce tighter controls on familial abuse pornography, which studies suggests is often promoted by platform systems.
- Add further controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to own tools designed to create non-consensual nude images.
- Create a new, separate oversight agency to perform inspections on pornography sites and act on complaints of unlawful content.
The campaigners argue that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have existed for years in the physical world finally are extended to the digital age.
