British Adult Content Traffic Declines After Identity Checks, Yet VPN Usage Spikes, Reports Watchdog
Visitor numbers to pornography websites in the United Kingdom has seen a notable drop after the introduction of age-checking measures earlier this year, as reported by the nation's communications watchdog. At the same time, the usage of specialist software designed to dodge these restrictions has risen.
Sharp Drop in Visitor Figures After Law Implementation
The enforcement of age verification on 25 July caused an swift decline in traffic to popular online adult platforms, including the leading site in the UK. Figures reveals 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, traffic to the ten most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a significantly reduced level than prior to the end-of-July implementation date. Subsequent data shows this decline in site visits continued past August.
Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Evade Checks
Reacting to the new rules, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can bypass geographic restrictions by masking connections via another country—surged following 25 July.
Usage reached a high at more than 1.4 million in mid-August, up from approximately 650,000 people prior to the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has since steadily declined, with current figures standing at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the level of daily VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for adult sites.
Teenagers Responding to Harmful Material
Elsewhere, the regulator's annual study revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing harmful content on the internet. Actions ranged from reporting the material to the platform to muting the user who shared it.
This research was carried out prior to new rules came into force that require social media companies to prevent children from seeing dangerous content, such as material related to self-harm and pornography. The primary way young people came across such content was by looking through a platform feed, suggesting that algorithms were serving inappropriate material.
Government Launch Examination of Adult Content Laws
In a related development, the ministers announced it would examine the legislation relating to pornography to assess whether it is “fit for purpose” in the ever-developing online world.
“The examination will look into the effectiveness of the current law in regarding making illegal, for example, damaging depictions of familial abuse and any types of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” stated a justice minister.
Campaigners Call For Stricter Digital Regulations
Campaigners for tighter control of online pornography have urged the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages child sexual abuse by using young-looking adults dressed as children.
Suggested changes to legislation seek to:
- Ban pornography where adults are impersonating children, sometimes filmed in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the crime of creating an indecent image of a child to cover material where an older performer acts the part of a child.
- Introduce stricter controls on incest-themed pornography, which research suggests is often promoted by site systems.
- Introduce further controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to own tools designed to create private images without permission.
- Create a new, independent oversight agency to perform spot checks on adult platforms and respond to reports of unlawful content.
The campaigners contend that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have existed for years in the physical world finally are extended to the online sphere.
