British Adult Content Traffic Declines After Identity Checks, Yet VPN Usage Spikes, States Watchdog
Visitor numbers to adult content sites in the United Kingdom has decreased markedly after the enforcement of mandatory age verification this summer, according to the country's communications authority. At the same time, the use of specialist software designed to dodge these restrictions has increased.
Immediate Drop in User Figures After Rule Enforcement
The introduction of age verification on 25 July led to an swift fall in visits to leading pornography sites, including the most visited site in the UK. Figures reveals that user traffic to this site in August stood at 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million compared to the equivalent month in 2024.
Overall, traffic to the ten top pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a markedly decreased volume than before the late July implementation date. Later data shows this slump in viewing continued past August.
Surge in VPN Usage to Bypass Restrictions
Reacting to the new rules, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can get around location-based blocks by masking internet traffic via another nation—surged after 25 July.
Usage peaked at more than 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from around 650,000 users before the checks began. Subsequently, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has since steadily declined, with current numbers at around 900,000. It clarified that the level of daily VPN use is “much lower” than user numbers for adult services.
Teenagers Responding to Harmful Material
In other findings, the regulator's report found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing harmful content online. Actions ranged from flagging the content to the site to blocking the user who shared it.
This survey was carried out before new rules took effect that require platforms to prevent children from seeing dangerous content, including material related to self-harm and pornography. The primary way young people came across such content was by scrolling through a platform feed, indicating that algorithms were serving harmful material.
Ministers Launch Review of Adult Content Legislation
In a related development, the ministers stated it would review the legislation relating to pornography to assess whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern digital age.
“The examination will investigate the efficacy of the current law in relation to making illegal, for example, damaging depictions of familial abuse and any types of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” said a justice minister.
Advocates Call For Stricter Online Controls
Campaigners for tighter control of adult content have called on the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages abuse by casting youthful performers portraying children.
Suggested changes to legislation aim to:
- Prohibit pornography where adults are impersonating children, sometimes recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the offence of making an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an older performer acts the part of a child.
- Apply tighter controls on incest-themed pornography, which studies suggests is often promoted by site algorithms.
- Add further controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to possess software designed to create non-consensual nude images.
- Create a new, independent regulatory body to conduct inspections on pornography sites and act on reports of unlawful content.
The advocates contend that these steps would ensure the protections that have existed for decades in the physical world finally apply to the online sphere.
