British Adult Content Traffic Declines Following Age Checks, But VPN Usage Spikes, States Regulator
Access to adult content sites in the UK has decreased markedly after the roll-out of mandatory age verification earlier this year, according to the nation's communications watchdog. At the same time, the adoption of specialist software designed to circumvent these blocks has risen.
Immediate Fall in User Numbers After Rule Enforcement
The enforcement of age verification on 25 July caused an prompt reduction in visits to major online adult platforms, such as the leading site in the UK. Figures reveals that visitor numbers to this platform in August reached 9.8 million, a drop 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 markedly decreased volume than before the end-of-July implementation date. Later analysis suggests this slump in site visits continued past August.
Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Evade Restrictions
In response to the new rules, use of VPN software—which can get around geographic blocks by routing connections via another country—surged after 25 July.
User numbers peaked at more than 1.4 million in mid-August, up from around 650,000 users prior to the verification began. Subsequently, the regulator stated that VPN usage has since decreased, with latest figures at around 900,000. It added that the level of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for pornography services.
Young People Taking Action to Harmful Material
Elsewhere, the watchdog's annual study found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing harmful content online. Actions included reporting the content to the site to blocking the person who shared it.
This survey was conducted prior to new rules came into force that compel platforms to prevent children from accessing harmful content, including material related to suicide and adult material. The primary way teenagers encountered such content was by scrolling through a social media timeline, indicating that recommendation systems were showing harmful material.
Ministers Announce Review of Pornography Laws
In a related development, the government stated it would review the criminal law relating to pornography to assess whether it is adequate in the ever-developing online world.
“The examination will investigate the efficacy of the current law in relation to making illegal, for example, damaging depictions of incest and any types of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” said a government official.
Campaigners Call For Tighter Online Controls
Campaigners for better regulation of online pornography have called on the government to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote abuse by using youthful performers portraying children.
Proposed changes to government bills seek to:
- Prohibit pornography where adults are impersonating children, sometimes recorded in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the offence of making an indecent image of a child to cover material where an older performer plays the role of a child.
- Apply stricter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which studies indicates is heavily recommended by site systems.
- Introduce additional controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to own software designed to generate private images without permission.
- Create a new, separate regulatory body to conduct spot checks on adult platforms and act on complaints of unlawful content.
The advocates contend that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for decades in the physical world finally apply to the online sphere.
