UK Adult Content Traffic Declines After Age Verifications, Yet VPN Usage Surges, States Regulator
Traffic to pornography websites in the UK has decreased markedly after the roll-out of mandatory age verification earlier this year, according to the country's communications regulator. At the same time, the use of tools designed to bypass these restrictions has surged.
Immediate Drop in Visitor Numbers Following Law Enforcement
The enforcement of age verification on 25 July resulted in an swift reduction in visits to major pornography sites, such as the leading site in the UK. Data shows that visitor numbers to this platform in August stood at 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024.
In total, visitor numbers to the 10 most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a “lower level” than prior to the end-of-July deadline. Later data shows this decline in viewing persisted beyond August.
Surge in VPN Usage to Bypass Restrictions
In response to the new rules, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can bypass geographic restrictions by routing connections through another country—more than doubled following 25 July.
User numbers peaked at more than 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from around 650,000 people prior to the checks began. Subsequently, the regulator stated that VPN usage has afterwards decreased, with current figures standing at approximately 900,000. It added that the level of regular VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for pornography sites.
Teenagers Responding to Damaging Material
In other findings, the watchdog's annual study revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering distressing content online. Steps taken ranged from flagging the material to the site to muting the user who shared it.
This survey was conducted prior to new rules came into force that require platforms to stop children from seeing harmful content, such as material related to self-harm and adult material. The most common way teenagers encountered such content was by scrolling through a social media feed, indicating that algorithms were serving inappropriate material.
Ministers Announce Examination of Adult Content Legislation
Separately, the ministers stated it would examine the legislation governing pornography to consider whether it is adequate in the modern online world.
“The examination will investigate the effectiveness of the current law in relation to criminalising, for example, harmful portrayals of familial abuse and any forms of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” said a government official.
Campaigners Push For Tighter Digital Controls
Campaigners for better control of online pornography have called on the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages child sexual abuse by casting youthful adults dressed as children.
Suggested amendments to legislation aim to:
- Prohibit pornography where adults are impersonating children, often recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the offence of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an adult plays the role of a child.
- Apply tighter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which studies indicates is heavily recommended by platform systems.
- Introduce additional controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to own software designed to create non-consensual nude images.
- Establish a new, independent regulatory body to conduct inspections on pornography sites and respond to reports of illegal content.
The advocates contend that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for years in the physical world finally are extended to the online sphere.
