UK Pornography Traffic Falls After Identity Verifications, Yet Virtual Private Network Usage Surges, States Regulator
Traffic to adult content sites in the UK has seen a notable drop after the roll-out of mandatory age verification earlier this year, as reported by the country's communications regulator. Simultaneously, the usage of tools designed to dodge these blocks has surged.
Immediate Fall in User Figures Following Rule Implementation
The introduction of age vetting on 25 July resulted in an swift decline in visits to leading pornography sites, including the leading provider in the UK. Figures shows that user traffic to this platform in August stood at 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024.
In total, visitor numbers to the ten most-visited adult services in the UK have now stabilized at a “lower level” than prior to the late July implementation date. Subsequent data suggests this slump in site visits persisted beyond August.
Surge in VPN Adoption to Bypass Restrictions
In response to the new rules, adoption of VPN software—which can get around location-based restrictions by masking internet traffic via another country—more than doubled after 25 July.
Usage reached a high at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from approximately 650,000 people before the checks 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 services.
Teenagers Responding to Harmful Online Content
In other findings, the regulator's annual study revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering damaging content online. Steps taken included flagging the content to the platform to muting the user who shared it.
This survey was carried out prior to new rules took effect that compel social media companies to prevent children from seeing dangerous content, such as material related to suicide and pornography. The primary way young people encountered such content was by scrolling through a platform feed, suggesting that algorithms were showing inappropriate material.
Government Announce Review of Adult Content Laws
In a related development, the government stated it would examine the criminal law relating to pornography to assess whether it is effective in the modern digital age.
“The review will investigate the effectiveness of the current law in regarding criminalising, for example, damaging portrayals of incest and any types of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” said a government official.
Advocates Push For Stricter Digital Controls
Advocates for tighter control of online pornography have called on the government to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring incest scenes or that encourages abuse by using young-looking performers portraying children.
Suggested amendments to legislation aim to:
- Prohibit pornography where adults are impersonating children, sometimes recorded in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the crime of creating an indecent image of a child to include material where an adult acts the part of a child.
- Apply stricter controls on familial abuse pornography, which research indicates is often promoted by platform systems.
- Introduce additional restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to own software designed to create non-consensual nude images.
- Create a new, separate oversight agency to conduct inspections on pornography sites and act on complaints of unlawful content.
The advocates argue that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for years in the physical world finally are extended to the online sphere.
