British Pornography Traffic Falls After Age Verifications, But Virtual Private Network Use Surges, States Watchdog
Visitor numbers to adult content sites in the United Kingdom has fallen significantly since the introduction of mandatory age verification this summer, according to the nation's communications authority. Simultaneously, the adoption of tools designed to bypass these barriers has increased.
Immediate Drop in Visitor Numbers Following Rule Implementation
The introduction of age verification on 25 July led to an immediate decline in traffic to popular pornography sites, such as the top site in the UK. Figures reveals that visitor numbers to this site in August were 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million compared to the same period in 2024.
In total, traffic to the ten most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a markedly decreased volume than before the end-of-July implementation date. Subsequent data suggests this decline in viewing continued beyond August.
Surge in VPN Usage to Evade Checks
In response to the new rules, use of VPN software—which can get around location-based blocks by masking connections via another nation—surged after 25 July.
User numbers reached a high at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from approximately 650,000 people before the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has since fallen back, with current numbers standing at approximately 900,000. It added that the volume of daily VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for adult services.
Teenagers Taking Action to Damaging Material
Elsewhere, the regulator's annual study found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing harmful content online. Actions included flagging the material to the platform to blocking the person who shared it.
This survey was conducted prior to new regulations came into force that compel social media companies to prevent children from seeing dangerous content, including material related to suicide and adult material. The primary way teenagers came across such content was by scrolling through a social media feed, suggesting that algorithms were serving inappropriate material.
Government Launch Review of Adult Content Laws
Separately, the ministers announced it would examine the legislation relating to pornography to assess whether it is adequate in the ever-developing online world.
“The examination will investigate the efficacy of the existing law in regarding criminalising, for example, harmful depictions of incest and any types of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” stated a justice minister.
Campaigners Push For Stricter Digital Regulations
Advocates for better control of online pornography have called on the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote abuse by casting young-looking adults dressed as children.
Proposed changes to legislation seek to:
- Ban pornography where performers are mimicking children, sometimes filmed in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the crime of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an older performer acts the part of a child.
- Introduce stricter controls on familial abuse pornography, which studies indicates is heavily recommended by platform systems.
- Add further restrictions on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to own tools designed to generate non-consensual nude images.
- Establish a new, independent regulatory body to perform spot checks on pornography sites and act on reports of illegal content.
The advocates argue that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for decades in the physical world finally apply to the online sphere.
