UK Adult Content Site Visits Falls Following Age Verifications, Yet VPN Use Surges, Reports Regulator
Access to pornography sites in the UK has fallen significantly after the roll-out of mandatory age verification earlier this year, according to the nation's communications regulator. Concurrently, the usage of tools designed to circumvent these barriers has increased.
Sharp Fall in Visitor Numbers Following Rule Implementation
The enforcement of age verification on 25 July caused an immediate reduction in traffic to leading pornography sites, such as the leading site in the UK. Data indicates that user traffic to this site in August reached 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024.
In total, traffic to the ten most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a “lower level” than before the late July implementation date. Subsequent data shows this downward trend in viewing persisted past August.
Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Usage to Bypass Restrictions
Reacting to the new rules, use of VPN software—which can get around location-based restrictions by routing internet traffic through another nation—more than doubled following 25 July.
Usage peaked at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from approximately 650,000 users prior to the checks began. Subsequently, the regulator noted that VPN usage has afterwards steadily declined, with latest figures standing at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the volume of regular VPN use is “much lower” than user numbers for pornography services.
Young People Taking Action to Harmful Online Content
In other findings, the watchdog's report revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing harmful content on the internet. Steps taken included flagging the content to the site to blocking the person who shared it.
This survey was carried out before new regulations came into force that compel social media companies to stop children from accessing dangerous content, such as material related to self-harm and adult material. The most common way young people encountered such content was by scrolling through a social media feed, indicating that algorithms were showing inappropriate material.
Government Announce Examination of Adult Content Laws
Separately, the government announced it would examine the legislation governing pornography to assess whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern digital age.
“The examination will look into the effectiveness of the existing law in regarding criminalising, among other things, harmful portrayals of incest and any types of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” stated a justice minister.
Advocates Call For Tighter Digital Controls
Campaigners for tighter regulation of adult content have called on the authorities to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote abuse by casting young-looking performers dressed as children.
Suggested changes to legislation seek to:
- Ban pornography where performers are impersonating children, sometimes filmed in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the crime of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an older performer plays the role of a child.
- Introduce stricter controls on incest-themed pornography, which research suggests is often promoted by site systems.
- Add further restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to own software designed to create private images without permission.
- Create a new, independent oversight agency to perform inspections on pornography sites and act on complaints of unlawful content.
The advocates contend that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for years in the physical world finally are extended to the online sphere.
