British Adult Content Site Visits Declines Following Age Checks, But Virtual Private Network Use Surges, States Watchdog
Traffic to pornography sites in the UK has fallen significantly since the enforcement of age-checking measures earlier this year, according to the country's communications regulator. Simultaneously, the adoption of specialist software designed to circumvent these blocks has increased.
Immediate Drop in Visitor Figures After Rule Implementation
The enforcement of age verification on 25 July caused an swift reduction in traffic to popular online adult platforms, including the top site in the UK. Data shows that user traffic to this site in August reached 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024.
Overall, traffic to the ten most-visited adult services in the UK have now settled at a markedly decreased volume than before the late July deadline. Later analysis shows this slump in site visits persisted beyond August.
Surge in VPN Usage to Evade Restrictions
Reacting to the new rules, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can bypass geographic blocks by routing internet traffic via another country—increased dramatically following 25 July.
Usage peaked at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from approximately 650,000 people prior to the checks were introduced. Subsequently, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has afterwards steadily declined, with current figures standing at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the level of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for pornography services.
Teenagers Responding to Harmful Online Content
In other findings, the regulator's annual study revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing damaging content online. Actions ranged from flagging the material to the site to muting the user who posted it.
This research was conducted prior to new regulations took effect that require social media companies to prevent children from accessing harmful content, such as material related to suicide and pornography. The most common way young people encountered such content was by scrolling through a platform timeline, suggesting that algorithms were serving inappropriate material.
Ministers Announce Examination of Pornography Legislation
Separately, the government announced it would examine the legislation relating to pornography to consider whether it is effective in the modern digital age.
“The examination will look into the efficacy of the existing law in relation to making illegal, for example, damaging depictions of familial abuse and any types of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” stated a government official.
Campaigners Call For Tighter Online Regulations
Campaigners for tighter regulation of online pornography have called on the authorities 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 performers portraying children.
Suggested amendments to government bills seek to:
- Ban pornography where performers are mimicking children, sometimes recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the crime of making an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an older performer acts the part of a child.
- Introduce tighter regulation on familial abuse pornography, which studies indicates is often promoted by site algorithms.
- Add further controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to possess software designed to generate private images without permission.
- Establish a new, separate oversight agency to perform spot checks on pornography sites and act on reports of illegal content.
The advocates contend that these steps would ensure the protections that have been enforced for decades in the physical world finally apply to the online sphere.
