UK Pornography Traffic Falls Following Identity Verifications, But VPN Use Spikes, States Watchdog
Visitor numbers to adult content platforms in the UK has seen a notable drop since the enforcement of age-checking measures this summer, according to the country's communications watchdog. Simultaneously, the usage of tools designed to dodge these barriers has surged.
Sharp Drop in Visitor Figures Following Rule Enforcement
The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July resulted in an prompt reduction in traffic to popular online adult platforms, including the leading site in the UK. Figures shows that user traffic to this site in August stood at 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million compared to the equivalent month in 2024.
Overall, visitor numbers to the ten top adult services in the UK have now stabilized at a markedly decreased volume than prior to the late July implementation date. Later analysis suggests this decline in viewing persisted beyond August.
Surge in VPN Adoption to Bypass Restrictions
In response to the new regulations, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can get around geographic restrictions by masking connections through another nation—increased dramatically after 25 July.
Usage reached a high at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from around 650,000 users prior to the verification began. Subsequently, the regulator noted that VPN usage has since steadily declined, with current figures at approximately 900,000. It added that the level of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for adult sites.
Teenagers Responding to Harmful Material
Elsewhere, the regulator's report found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering distressing content online. Steps taken included reporting the material to the site to muting the person who posted it.
This survey was carried out prior to new regulations took effect that require platforms to stop children from seeing dangerous content, such as material related to self-harm and pornography. The most common way young people came across such content was by looking through a platform timeline, indicating that algorithms were serving harmful material.
Government Announce Examination of Pornography Legislation
In a related development, the ministers announced it would review the criminal law governing pornography to assess whether it is adequate in the ever-developing online world.
“The review will investigate the efficacy of the current law in regarding criminalising, among other things, harmful depictions of familial abuse and any types of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” stated a government official.
Advocates Push For Stricter Online Regulations
Advocates for tighter control of online pornography have called on the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote abuse by using young-looking performers dressed as children.
Proposed amendments to government bills aim to:
- Ban pornography where adults are mimicking children, often recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the offence of making an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an adult acts the part of a child.
- Introduce stricter controls on familial abuse pornography, which research indicates is often promoted by site algorithms.
- Introduce additional controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to own tools designed to generate non-consensual nude images.
- Establish a new, separate regulatory body to conduct inspections on adult platforms and act on reports of illegal content.
The advocates contend that these measures would ensure the protections that have been enforced for years in the physical world finally apply to the online sphere.
