🔗 Share this article British Pornography Site Visits Declines Following Age Verifications, But VPN Usage Surges, Reports Watchdog Access to adult content platforms in the United Kingdom has fallen significantly after the roll-out of mandatory age verification earlier this year, as reported by the country's communications watchdog. Simultaneously, the adoption of specialist software designed to circumvent these blocks has surged. Immediate Fall in Visitor Numbers After Law Enforcement The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July resulted in an prompt decline in traffic to leading online adult platforms, including the leading 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 adult services in the UK have now settled at a “lower level” than before the late July deadline. Later data shows this downward trend in viewing persisted beyond August. Surge in VPN Adoption to Evade Checks Reacting to the new rules, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can get around location-based blocks by masking internet traffic via another country—more than doubled after 25 July. User numbers peaked at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from approximately 650,000 users before the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the regulator noted that VPN usage has since decreased, with current figures standing at approximately 900,000. It added that the level of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for pornography sites. Young People Responding to Harmful Online Content Elsewhere, the watchdog's annual study revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing harmful content on the internet. Steps taken included reporting the material to the platform to blocking the user who shared it. This research was carried out prior to new rules came into force that require social media companies to stop children from seeing dangerous content, such as material related to suicide and pornography. The primary way teenagers encountered such content was by looking through a social media timeline, suggesting that recommendation systems were showing inappropriate material. Government Launch Review of Pornography Legislation In a related development, the ministers stated it would examine the criminal law relating to pornography to consider whether it is effective in the ever-developing digital age. “The review will look into the efficacy of the existing law in regarding making illegal, among other things, harmful depictions of incest and any forms of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” stated a government official. Advocates Call For Tighter Online Regulations Advocates for tighter regulation of adult content have called on the government to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that encourages abuse by using youthful performers dressed as children. Proposed changes to government bills aim to: Prohibit pornography where adults are impersonating children, sometimes recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms. Broaden the offence of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an older performer acts the part of a child. Apply stricter controls on familial abuse pornography, which studies suggests is heavily recommended by platform systems. Introduce additional controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to possess tools designed to create non-consensual nude images. Create a new, separate oversight agency to conduct spot checks on pornography sites and act on reports of unlawful content. The advocates argue that these measures would ensure the protections that have existed for years offline finally apply to the online sphere.
Access to adult content platforms in the United Kingdom has fallen significantly after the roll-out of mandatory age verification earlier this year, as reported by the country's communications watchdog. Simultaneously, the adoption of specialist software designed to circumvent these blocks has surged. Immediate Fall in Visitor Numbers After Law Enforcement The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July resulted in an prompt decline in traffic to leading online adult platforms, including the leading 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 adult services in the UK have now settled at a “lower level” than before the late July deadline. Later data shows this downward trend in viewing persisted beyond August. Surge in VPN Adoption to Evade Checks Reacting to the new rules, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can get around location-based blocks by masking internet traffic via another country—more than doubled after 25 July. User numbers peaked at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from approximately 650,000 users before the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the regulator noted that VPN usage has since decreased, with current figures standing at approximately 900,000. It added that the level of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for pornography sites. Young People Responding to Harmful Online Content Elsewhere, the watchdog's annual study revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing harmful content on the internet. Steps taken included reporting the material to the platform to blocking the user who shared it. This research was carried out prior to new rules came into force that require social media companies to stop children from seeing dangerous content, such as material related to suicide and pornography. The primary way teenagers encountered such content was by looking through a social media timeline, suggesting that recommendation systems were showing inappropriate material. Government Launch Review of Pornography Legislation In a related development, the ministers stated it would examine the criminal law relating to pornography to consider whether it is effective in the ever-developing digital age. “The review will look into the efficacy of the existing law in regarding making illegal, among other things, harmful depictions of incest and any forms of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” stated a government official. Advocates Call For Tighter Online Regulations Advocates for tighter regulation of adult content have called on the government to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that encourages abuse by using youthful performers dressed as children. Proposed changes to government bills aim to: Prohibit pornography where adults are impersonating children, sometimes recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms. Broaden the offence of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an older performer acts the part of a child. Apply stricter controls on familial abuse pornography, which studies suggests is heavily recommended by platform systems. Introduce additional controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to possess tools designed to create non-consensual nude images. Create a new, separate oversight agency to conduct spot checks on pornography sites and act on reports of unlawful content. The advocates argue that these measures would ensure the protections that have existed for years offline finally apply to the online sphere.