British Pornography Traffic Declines Following Identity Checks, Yet Virtual Private Network Use Spikes, States Regulator
Traffic to pornography websites in the UK has decreased markedly after the introduction of age-checking measures earlier this year, according to the nation's communications regulator. Simultaneously, the usage of tools designed to dodge these restrictions has surged.
Immediate Drop in Visitor Numbers After Law Enforcement
The introduction of age verification on 25 July led to an prompt reduction in visits to major pornography sites, including the top site in the UK. Figures shows that visitor numbers to this platform in August were 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024.
Overall, visitor numbers to the ten most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a markedly decreased volume than prior to the late July deadline. Subsequent analysis shows this decline in viewing continued past August.
Sharp Increase in VPN Adoption to Evade Checks
In response to the new rules, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can bypass location-based blocks by masking connections via another nation—more than doubled after 25 July.
User numbers reached a high at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from around 650,000 people prior to the verification began. Subsequently, the regulator noted that VPN usage has afterwards steadily declined, with current numbers at around 900,000. It added that the level of daily VPN use is “much lower” than user numbers for pornography sites.
Teenagers Taking Action to Damaging Material
In other findings, the regulator's annual study found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing distressing content online. Steps taken ranged from flagging the content to the site to muting the user who shared it.
This survey was carried out before new regulations took effect that compel social media companies to stop children from seeing harmful content, such as material related to self-harm and pornography. The primary way teenagers encountered such content was by looking through a social media timeline, suggesting that algorithms were serving inappropriate material.
Government Announce Review of Adult Content Laws
Separately, the government stated it would examine the criminal law governing pornography to consider whether it is adequate in the modern digital age.
“The review will look into the effectiveness of the existing law in relation to criminalising, for example, harmful depictions of incest and any types of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” stated a justice minister.
Campaigners Push For Stricter Online Controls
Advocates for tighter control of adult content have called on the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote child sexual abuse by using young-looking performers dressed as children.
Proposed amendments to legislation aim to:
- Prohibit pornography where adults are impersonating children, often filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the crime of making an indecent image of a child to include material where an older performer acts the part of a child.
- Apply stricter controls on incest-themed pornography, which research suggests is heavily recommended by site systems.
- Introduce further restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to own tools designed to generate non-consensual nude images.
- Establish a new, separate regulatory body to perform inspections on adult platforms and act on reports of illegal content.
The advocates contend that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for decades in the physical world finally are extended to the online sphere.
