British Pornography Traffic Falls After Identity Verifications, Yet Virtual Private Network Use Surges, Reports Regulator
Traffic to pornography sites in the UK has fallen significantly after the enforcement of mandatory age verification earlier this year, according to the nation's communications authority. At the same time, the use of specialist software designed to bypass these restrictions has surged.
Sharp Drop in Visitor Figures Following Law Enforcement
The introduction of age vetting on 25 July caused an prompt reduction in visits to leading pornography sites, such as the most visited site in the UK. Figures reveals that user traffic to this platform in August were 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million compared to the equivalent month in 2024.
In total, traffic to the 10 most-visited adult services in the UK have now settled at a significantly reduced level than before the late July deadline. Later data shows this slump in site visits persisted beyond August.
Surge in Virtual Private Network Usage to Bypass Restrictions
Reacting to the new rules, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can bypass geographic blocks by routing internet traffic via another nation—surged after 25 July.
Usage reached a high at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from around 650,000 people prior to the checks were introduced. Subsequently, the regulator stated that VPN usage has afterwards fallen back, with latest figures at around 900,000. It added that the volume of regular VPN use is “much lower” than user numbers for adult services.
Young People Responding to Damaging 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 flagging the content to the site to blocking the user who posted it.
This survey was conducted prior to new regulations came into force that compel platforms to stop children from seeing dangerous content, such as material related to self-harm and pornography. The most common way teenagers came across such content was by scrolling through a social media timeline, indicating that recommendation systems were showing inappropriate material.
Government Launch Examination of Pornography Legislation
In a related development, the ministers stated it would review the criminal law relating to pornography to assess whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern digital age.
“The review will investigate the efficacy of the current law in regarding criminalising, for example, damaging portrayals of incest and any forms of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” said a justice minister.
Advocates Call For Stricter Online Regulations
Advocates for tighter regulation of adult content have called on the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote child sexual abuse by using young-looking adults dressed as children.
Proposed amendments to legislation seek to:
- Prohibit pornography where adults are mimicking children, often filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the crime of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an older performer plays the role of a child.
- Apply tighter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which research indicates is often promoted by site algorithms.
- Introduce additional restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to own tools designed to generate non-consensual nude images.
- Create a new, separate regulatory body to conduct inspections on pornography sites and respond to reports of unlawful content.
The campaigners argue that these steps would ensure the protections that have existed for years offline finally are extended to the online sphere.
