British Pornography Traffic Falls Following Age Checks, But Virtual Private Network Usage Surges, States Watchdog
Traffic to pornography platforms in the United Kingdom has fallen significantly after the enforcement of mandatory age verification earlier this year, as reported by the nation's communications authority. At the same time, the use of specialist software designed to circumvent these restrictions has increased.
Immediate Drop in Visitor Figures Following Law Implementation
The introduction of age vetting on 25 July led to an prompt fall in traffic to major pornography sites, including the most visited site in the UK. Data shows that visitor numbers to this site in August reached 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million compared to the same period in 2024.
In total, visitor numbers to the ten most-visited adult services in the UK have now stabilized at a “lower level” than before the end-of-July deadline. Later analysis suggests this decline in viewing continued past August.
Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Bypass Restrictions
Reacting to the new regulations, adoption of VPN software—which can get around geographic restrictions by routing connections via another nation—surged after 25 July.
User numbers reached a high at over 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from approximately 650,000 people prior to the checks began. However, the regulator noted that VPN usage has since steadily declined, with current figures at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the volume of daily VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for pornography services.
Young People Responding to Damaging Material
Elsewhere, the regulator's report revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing harmful content on the internet. Steps taken ranged from reporting the material to the platform to muting the user who posted it.
This research was carried out before new rules came into force that compel social media companies to stop children from seeing dangerous content, including material related to suicide and pornography. The most common way teenagers encountered such content was by looking through a platform timeline, indicating that algorithms were showing harmful material.
Government Launch Review of Pornography Laws
In a related development, the government announced it would review the legislation relating to pornography to consider whether it is effective in the modern digital age.
“The review will investigate the efficacy of the current law in regarding making illegal, among other things, harmful portrayals of familial abuse and any types of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” stated a justice minister.
Campaigners Push For Stricter Online Controls
Advocates for tighter regulation of adult content have urged the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages abuse by using young-looking performers dressed as children.
Proposed changes to legislation seek to:
- Prohibit pornography where performers are impersonating children, sometimes recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the crime of making an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an older performer plays the role of a child.
- Apply tighter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which studies suggests is often promoted by platform systems.
- Introduce additional restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to possess tools designed to create non-consensual nude images.
- Create a new, separate regulatory body to conduct spot checks on pornography sites and act on complaints of illegal content.
The advocates contend that these measures would ensure the protections that have existed for years offline finally apply to the digital age.
