🔗 Share this article UK Pornography Traffic Declines Following Age Verifications, But Virtual Private Network Usage Surges, States Watchdog Access to adult content platforms in the United Kingdom has decreased markedly since the roll-out of mandatory age verification earlier this year, according to the nation's communications watchdog. Concurrently, the usage of specialist software designed to bypass these restrictions has increased. Immediate Fall in Visitor Numbers Following Law Enforcement The enforcement of age verification on 25 July led to an immediate reduction in traffic to major pornography sites, such as the most visited site in the UK. Data shows that user traffic to this site in August reached 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million compared to the equivalent month in 2024. Overall, traffic to the 10 most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a “lower level” than prior to the end-of-July implementation date. Later analysis suggests this decline in site visits continued beyond August. Surge in VPN Usage to Evade Checks Reacting to the new regulations, use of VPN software—which can bypass location-based blocks by masking connections through another nation—surged following 25 July. User numbers peaked at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from approximately 650,000 people prior to the checks were introduced. However, the regulator noted that VPN usage has afterwards decreased, with current figures standing at around 900,000. It added that the level of daily VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for adult services. Young People Responding to Damaging Material In other findings, the watchdog's annual study revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing damaging content online. Steps taken included reporting the material to the platform to muting the user who shared it. This survey was conducted prior to new regulations took effect that compel social media companies to prevent children from accessing dangerous content, including material related to self-harm and adult material. The most common way young people came across such content was by looking through a social media timeline, indicating that algorithms were showing harmful material. Government Launch Examination of Adult Content Laws Separately, the ministers stated it would examine the legislation governing pornography to assess whether it is adequate in the modern online world. “The examination will investigate the efficacy of the existing law in regarding criminalising, among other things, harmful portrayals of familial abuse and any types of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” stated a government official. Advocates Call For Tighter Online Controls Advocates for better control of online pornography have called on the government to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote abuse by using youthful performers dressed as children. Proposed amendments to legislation seek to: Prohibit pornography where performers are impersonating children, often filmed in settings like children’s bedrooms. Broaden the offence of creating an indecent image of a child to cover material where an adult acts the part of a child. Apply tighter controls on familial abuse pornography, which studies suggests is heavily recommended by platform algorithms. Add further controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to possess software designed to generate private images without permission. Create a new, independent regulatory body to perform spot checks on adult platforms and respond to reports of unlawful content. The advocates contend that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for years in the physical world finally apply to the digital age.
Access to adult content platforms in the United Kingdom has decreased markedly since the roll-out of mandatory age verification earlier this year, according to the nation's communications watchdog. Concurrently, the usage of specialist software designed to bypass these restrictions has increased. Immediate Fall in Visitor Numbers Following Law Enforcement The enforcement of age verification on 25 July led to an immediate reduction in traffic to major pornography sites, such as the most visited site in the UK. Data shows that user traffic to this site in August reached 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million compared to the equivalent month in 2024. Overall, traffic to the 10 most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a “lower level” than prior to the end-of-July implementation date. Later analysis suggests this decline in site visits continued beyond August. Surge in VPN Usage to Evade Checks Reacting to the new regulations, use of VPN software—which can bypass location-based blocks by masking connections through another nation—surged following 25 July. User numbers peaked at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from approximately 650,000 people prior to the checks were introduced. However, the regulator noted that VPN usage has afterwards decreased, with current figures standing at around 900,000. It added that the level of daily VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for adult services. Young People Responding to Damaging Material In other findings, the watchdog's annual study revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing damaging content online. Steps taken included reporting the material to the platform to muting the user who shared it. This survey was conducted prior to new regulations took effect that compel social media companies to prevent children from accessing dangerous content, including material related to self-harm and adult material. The most common way young people came across such content was by looking through a social media timeline, indicating that algorithms were showing harmful material. Government Launch Examination of Adult Content Laws Separately, the ministers stated it would examine the legislation governing pornography to assess whether it is adequate in the modern online world. “The examination will investigate the efficacy of the existing law in regarding criminalising, among other things, harmful portrayals of familial abuse and any types of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” stated a government official. Advocates Call For Tighter Online Controls Advocates for better control of online pornography have called on the government to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote abuse by using youthful performers dressed as children. Proposed amendments to legislation seek to: Prohibit pornography where performers are impersonating children, often filmed in settings like children’s bedrooms. Broaden the offence of creating an indecent image of a child to cover material where an adult acts the part of a child. Apply tighter controls on familial abuse pornography, which studies suggests is heavily recommended by platform algorithms. Add further controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to possess software designed to generate private images without permission. Create a new, independent regulatory body to perform spot checks on adult platforms and respond to reports of unlawful content. The advocates contend that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for years in the physical world finally apply to the digital age.