UK Pornography Traffic Declines Following Identity Checks, Yet Virtual Private Network Usage Surges, Reports Watchdog
Access to pornography sites in the UK has decreased markedly after the roll-out of age-checking measures earlier this year, according to the country's communications watchdog. Simultaneously, the use of specialist software designed to circumvent these restrictions has risen.
Sharp Drop in Visitor Figures Following Rule Implementation
The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July resulted in an prompt fall in visits to popular pornography sites, such as the top provider in the UK. Figures indicates that visitor numbers to this site in August reached 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024.
Overall, traffic to the ten top adult services in the UK have now stabilized at a significantly reduced level than before the end-of-July implementation date. Subsequent analysis suggests this decline in site visits continued past August.
Surge in VPN Adoption to Bypass Restrictions
In response to the new regulations, adoption of VPN software—which can bypass geographic restrictions by masking connections through another country—surged following 25 July.
Usage peaked at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from around 650,000 users before the checks were introduced. Subsequently, the regulator stated that VPN usage has afterwards steadily declined, with current figures standing at around 900,000. It added that the level of daily VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for pornography sites.
Young People Responding to Harmful Material
Elsewhere, the regulator's annual study found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing harmful content online. Actions included flagging the content to the site to muting the person who shared it.
This research was carried out prior to new rules took effect that require social media companies to prevent children from accessing dangerous content, including material related to suicide and adult material. The primary way young people came across such content was by scrolling through a social media timeline, indicating that recommendation systems were serving inappropriate material.
Government Announce Examination of Adult Content Laws
Separately, the ministers stated it would review the criminal law governing pornography to assess whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern online world.
“The review will look into the efficacy of the existing law in regarding making illegal, among other things, damaging portrayals of incest and any forms of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” stated a justice minister.
Campaigners Call For Tighter Digital Regulations
Advocates for tighter control of online pornography have urged the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote child sexual abuse by using young-looking adults portraying children.
Proposed amendments to legislation seek to:
- Ban pornography where performers are mimicking children, sometimes recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the crime of creating an indecent image of a child to cover material where an adult plays the role of a child.
- Apply stricter controls on familial abuse pornography, which studies suggests is often promoted by platform algorithms.
- Add further restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to own tools designed to create non-consensual nude images.
- Establish a new, independent regulatory body to conduct spot checks on adult platforms and act on complaints of illegal content.
The advocates contend that these measures would ensure the protections that have been enforced for decades in the physical world finally apply to the digital age.
