UK Pornography Traffic Declines Following Identity Verifications, Yet Virtual Private Network Use Spikes, Reports Regulator
Visitor numbers to pornography platforms in the United Kingdom has seen a notable drop since the enforcement of age-checking measures earlier this year, as reported by the country's communications regulator. Simultaneously, the usage of tools designed to dodge these blocks has increased.
Immediate Fall in Visitor Numbers Following Rule Implementation
The introduction of age verification on 25 July resulted in an swift reduction in visits to popular pornography sites, including the leading site in the UK. Figures reveals that visitor numbers to this site in August reached 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.
In total, visitor numbers to the 10 top pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a “lower level” than prior to the end-of-July implementation date. Subsequent analysis indicates this downward trend in viewing continued past August.
Sharp Increase in VPN Usage to Bypass Checks
Reacting to the new rules, use of VPN software—which can circumvent geographic blocks by masking internet traffic via another country—more than doubled following 25 July.
Usage peaked at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from around 650,000 people prior to the verification began. Subsequently, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has since steadily declined, with latest figures at around 900,000. It added that the level of regular VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for pornography sites.
Young People Responding to Harmful Material
In other findings, the watchdog's report revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering harmful content online. Steps taken ranged from flagging the material to the platform to muting the person who posted it.
This survey was carried out prior to new regulations took effect that compel social media companies to stop children from accessing harmful content, such as material related to self-harm and pornography. The primary way young people came across such content was by scrolling through a platform feed, indicating that algorithms were serving inappropriate material.
Government Announce Review of Adult Content Laws
Separately, the government stated it would review the criminal law relating to pornography to consider whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern digital age.
“The review will investigate the effectiveness of the existing law in relation to criminalising, among other things, damaging depictions of incest and any forms of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” stated a justice minister.
Advocates Call For Stricter Online Controls
Campaigners for better regulation of online pornography have urged the government to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote abuse by using youthful performers dressed as children.
Suggested amendments to legislation seek to:
- Prohibit pornography where performers are mimicking children, sometimes recorded in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the offence of creating an indecent image of a child to cover material where an adult acts the part of a child.
- Apply tighter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which studies indicates is often promoted by site algorithms.
- Introduce further controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to own software designed to generate non-consensual nude images.
- Create a new, independent oversight agency to perform inspections on adult platforms and respond to complaints of illegal content.
The campaigners argue that these measures would ensure the protections that have been enforced for years offline finally are extended to the digital age.
