British Adult Content Traffic Falls Following Identity Verifications, But VPN Use Spikes, Reports Watchdog
Visitor numbers to pornography websites in the United Kingdom has seen a notable drop since the roll-out of age-checking measures this summer, according to the country's communications authority. Simultaneously, the use of tools designed to circumvent these restrictions has surged.
Sharp Fall in Visitor Figures After Law Enforcement
The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July resulted in an immediate fall in visits to major online adult platforms, including the most visited site in the UK. Figures reveals that visitor numbers to this platform in August stood at 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.
In total, visitor numbers to the 10 most-visited adult services in the UK have now stabilized at a “lower level” than before the late July deadline. Later analysis indicates this decline in viewing continued beyond August.
Surge in VPN Adoption to Bypass Restrictions
Reacting to the new rules, adoption of VPN software—which can bypass geographic blocks by masking connections via another country—surged after 25 July.
User numbers reached a high at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from around 650,000 people prior to the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has afterwards fallen back, with current numbers at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the volume of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for adult sites.
Young People Taking Action to Damaging Online Content
Elsewhere, the regulator's annual study found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing distressing content online. Steps taken included flagging the material to the site to muting the user who posted it.
This survey was carried out prior to new regulations came into force that require platforms to prevent children from seeing harmful content, such as material related to suicide and adult material. The most common way young people encountered such content was by looking through a social media timeline, indicating that recommendation systems were showing inappropriate material.
Ministers Announce Review of Adult Content Legislation
In a related development, the government stated it would review the legislation relating to pornography to consider whether it is adequate in the modern online world.
“The examination will investigate the effectiveness of the existing law in relation to criminalising, for example, damaging depictions of familial abuse and any forms of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” stated a government official.
Advocates Call For Stricter Online Controls
Advocates for tighter regulation of online pornography have called on the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that encourages child sexual abuse by using youthful adults portraying children.
Suggested changes to government bills aim to:
- Ban pornography where adults are mimicking children, sometimes recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the offence of making an indecent image of a child to cover material where an older performer acts the part of a child.
- Introduce stricter controls on familial abuse pornography, which studies indicates is heavily recommended by platform algorithms.
- Add further controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to possess tools designed to create non-consensual nude images.
- Create a new, separate regulatory body to conduct spot checks on pornography sites and respond to reports of unlawful content.
The advocates contend that these measures would ensure the protections that have existed for decades offline finally are extended to the digital age.
