British Pornography Traffic Declines After Age Checks, But Virtual Private Network Use Spikes, Reports Watchdog
Traffic to pornography platforms in the United Kingdom has seen a notable drop after the enforcement of mandatory age verification this summer, according to the country's communications watchdog. Concurrently, the adoption of tools designed to dodge these barriers has risen.
Immediate Fall in Visitor Numbers Following Law Enforcement
The introduction of age vetting on 25 July led to an immediate fall in traffic to major online adult platforms, including the most visited provider in the UK. Data shows that visitor numbers to this site in August stood at 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million compared to the same period in 2024.
Overall, visitor numbers to the 10 top pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a markedly decreased volume than before the late July implementation date. Later data suggests this slump in viewing persisted beyond August.
Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Evade Checks
In response to the new rules, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can bypass location-based blocks by routing internet traffic via another nation—surged following 25 July.
Usage reached a high at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from around 650,000 users prior to the verification began. Subsequently, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has since steadily declined, with current figures at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the level of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for adult services.
Young People Responding to Damaging Material
Elsewhere, the watchdog's report revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing distressing content online. Steps taken ranged from flagging the content to the platform to blocking the person who shared it.
This research was carried out before new regulations came into force that require social media companies to prevent children from seeing harmful content, such as material related to self-harm and adult material. The most common way young people came across such content was by looking through a platform feed, suggesting that recommendation systems were showing harmful material.
Government Announce Review of Pornography Legislation
Separately, the government stated it would review the legislation governing pornography to assess whether it is effective in the modern online world.
“The review will investigate the efficacy of the existing law in relation to making illegal, for example, damaging depictions of incest and any types of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” said a justice minister.
Advocates Push For Tighter Digital Regulations
Campaigners for better regulation of adult content have called on the government to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages abuse by casting youthful performers dressed as children.
Suggested amendments to government bills aim to:
- Ban pornography where adults are mimicking children, often recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the offence of making an indecent image of a child to include material where an older performer plays the role of a child.
- Introduce tighter controls on incest-themed pornography, which research suggests is heavily recommended by platform algorithms.
- Add additional controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to own tools designed to create private images without permission.
- Create a new, separate oversight agency to perform spot checks on adult platforms and respond to complaints of unlawful content.
The advocates contend that these steps would ensure the protections that have been enforced for years in the physical world finally apply to the online sphere.
