British Pornography Traffic Declines Following Age Verifications, Yet Virtual Private Network Use Surges, States Regulator
Traffic to adult content websites in the UK has seen a notable drop since the introduction of mandatory age verification this summer, according to the nation's communications regulator. Concurrently, the adoption of tools designed to bypass these barriers has surged.
Immediate Drop in Visitor Numbers After Rule Enforcement
The introduction of age vetting on 25 July led to an immediate reduction in visits to popular pornography sites, including the most visited provider in the UK. Figures shows that user traffic to this platform in August reached 9.8 million, a decrease 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 significantly reduced level than prior to the end-of-July implementation date. Subsequent analysis suggests this slump in site visits continued beyond August.
Surge in VPN Usage to Evade Restrictions
Reacting to the new regulations, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can circumvent geographic restrictions by routing internet traffic via another nation—increased dramatically after 25 July.
Usage reached a high at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from around 650,000 people prior to the verification began. Subsequently, the regulator noted that VPN usage has afterwards steadily declined, with current figures standing at around 900,000. It clarified that the level of regular VPN use remains “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 encountering distressing content online. Actions included flagging the content to the platform to muting the user who posted it.
This research was conducted prior to new rules took effect that compel social media companies to prevent children from accessing harmful content, including material related to self-harm and pornography. The primary way young people encountered such content was by looking through a platform feed, indicating that algorithms were showing harmful material.
Ministers Announce Examination of Pornography Laws
Separately, the government stated it would examine the legislation relating to pornography to assess whether it is “fit for purpose” in the ever-developing digital age.
“The review will investigate the efficacy of the existing law in regarding making illegal, among other things, harmful depictions of familial abuse and any forms of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” stated a government official.
Campaigners Push For Stricter Online Controls
Advocates for better control of online pornography have urged the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that encourages abuse by casting youthful adults portraying children.
Proposed amendments to legislation seek to:
- Prohibit pornography where adults are mimicking children, often recorded in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the crime of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an adult acts the part of a child.
- Introduce tighter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which research suggests is heavily recommended by site systems.
- Introduce additional controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to own software designed to create non-consensual nude images.
- Create a new, separate oversight agency to perform inspections on adult platforms and act on reports of unlawful content.
The campaigners contend that these measures would ensure the protections that have existed for decades in the physical world finally apply to the online sphere.