UK Pornography Traffic Declines Following Age Verifications, But Virtual Private Network Use Spikes, Reports Regulator
Access to pornography platforms in the United Kingdom has decreased markedly since the roll-out of mandatory age verification earlier this year, as reported by the country's communications watchdog. Concurrently, the usage of specialist software designed to dodge these blocks has risen.
Immediate Drop in User Figures Following Law Implementation
The enforcement of age verification on 25 July resulted in an swift reduction in visits to major online adult platforms, such as the most visited site in the UK. Figures indicates that user traffic to this platform in August stood at 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.
In total, traffic to the 10 most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a significantly reduced level than before the late July deadline. Later data shows this decline in site visits persisted past August.
Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Usage to Bypass Restrictions
Reacting to the new rules, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can circumvent location-based blocks by routing connections via another nation—increased dramatically after 25 July.
User numbers peaked at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from around 650,000 people before the verification began. Subsequently, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has afterwards decreased, with current numbers standing at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the volume of regular VPN use is “much lower” than user numbers for adult sites.
Teenagers Responding to Damaging Material
Elsewhere, the watchdog's report revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering harmful content online. Steps taken ranged from flagging the material to the site to muting the user who posted it.
This survey was carried out before new rules took effect that compel social media companies to prevent children from accessing dangerous content, including material related to suicide and pornography. The most common way young people encountered such content was by scrolling through a platform feed, suggesting that algorithms were showing harmful material.
Ministers Announce Review of Pornography Legislation
In a related development, the ministers announced it would examine the criminal law governing pornography to assess whether it is effective in the ever-developing online world.
“The review will look into the effectiveness of the current law in relation to criminalising, among other things, harmful depictions of familial abuse and any forms of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” stated a government official.
Campaigners Call For Tighter Digital Regulations
Advocates for tighter regulation of online pornography have urged the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages child sexual abuse by casting young-looking adults portraying children.
Suggested amendments to government bills seek to:
- Ban pornography where adults are impersonating children, sometimes recorded in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the crime of making an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an older performer acts the part of a child.
- Introduce tighter controls on familial abuse pornography, which studies indicates is heavily recommended by platform systems.
- Add additional restrictions on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to possess tools designed to generate non-consensual nude images.
- Establish a new, separate oversight agency to conduct spot checks on adult platforms and respond to reports of unlawful content.
The advocates argue that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have existed for years in the physical world finally are extended to the online sphere.