UK Adult Content Traffic Falls After Identity Checks, But VPN Use Surges, States Regulator
Access to pornography platforms in the UK has decreased markedly after the introduction of age-checking measures earlier this year, according to the country's communications regulator. At the same time, the usage of specialist software designed to bypass these barriers has increased.
Sharp Fall in User Numbers Following Law Enforcement
The enforcement of age verification on 25 July led to an prompt reduction in visits to leading pornography sites, including the most visited site in the UK. Data shows that user traffic to this site in August stood at 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million compared to the same period in 2024.
Overall, traffic to the ten most-visited adult services in the UK have now settled at a markedly decreased volume than prior to the late July implementation date. Later data suggests this downward trend in viewing continued past August.
Surge in Virtual Private Network Usage to Bypass Restrictions
Reacting to the new rules, use of VPN software—which can get around geographic blocks by routing internet traffic through another nation—more than doubled after 25 July.
Usage reached a high at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from approximately 650,000 users prior to the verification began. However, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has since decreased, with latest numbers at around 900,000. It added that the volume of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for pornography sites.
Young People Responding to Harmful Online Content
In other findings, the watchdog's report found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering damaging content online. Steps taken included reporting the material to the platform to muting the person who shared it.
This survey was carried out before new regulations took effect that compel social media companies to stop children from seeing dangerous content, such as material related to self-harm and pornography. The primary way young people encountered such content was by looking through a social media feed, indicating that algorithms were serving harmful material.
Government Announce Examination of Pornography Legislation
Separately, the ministers announced it would examine the criminal law relating to pornography to assess whether it is “fit for purpose” in the ever-developing digital age.
“The examination will investigate the effectiveness of the existing law in relation to making illegal, for example, damaging depictions of incest and any types of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” stated a justice minister.
Advocates Push For Stricter Online Regulations
Campaigners for tighter control of adult content have called on the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring incest scenes or that encourages abuse by using young-looking performers portraying children.
Suggested changes to legislation aim to:
- Prohibit pornography where performers are mimicking children, sometimes filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the crime of making an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an adult plays the role of a child.
- Introduce tighter controls on familial abuse pornography, which studies suggests is heavily recommended by site algorithms.
- Introduce further controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to possess tools designed to generate non-consensual nude images.
- Establish a new, separate oversight agency to perform inspections on adult platforms and respond to reports of illegal content.
The campaigners contend that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for decades offline finally are extended to the online sphere.
