British Pornography Site Visits Falls After Age Checks, But VPN Usage Spikes, Reports Regulator
Access to adult content platforms in the United Kingdom has fallen significantly after the enforcement of mandatory age verification earlier this year, according to the nation's communications watchdog. Concurrently, the use of specialist software designed to dodge these barriers has risen.
Sharp Drop in User Numbers After Law Implementation
The introduction of age vetting on 25 July caused an prompt reduction in traffic to major online adult platforms, including the top site in the UK. Figures reveals that user traffic to this platform in August stood at 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024.
Overall, visitor numbers to the ten top adult services in the UK have now settled at a markedly decreased volume than before the late July deadline. Subsequent analysis suggests this slump in site visits continued beyond August.
Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Bypass Checks
In response to the new rules, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can bypass location-based restrictions by routing connections via another nation—increased dramatically following 25 July.
Usage reached a high at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from approximately 650,000 users prior to the checks began. Subsequently, the regulator noted that VPN usage has afterwards fallen back, 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.
Teenagers Responding to Harmful Online Content
In other findings, the regulator's report found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering harmful content on the internet. Steps taken included reporting the content to the platform to blocking the person who posted it.
This survey was conducted before new rules took effect that compel platforms to stop children from accessing dangerous content, such as material related to self-harm and pornography. The primary way young people came across such content was by looking through a platform feed, suggesting that algorithms were serving harmful material.
Government Announce Review of Adult Content Legislation
In a related development, the government announced it would review the legislation relating to pornography to consider whether it is effective in the ever-developing online world.
“The review will investigate the efficacy of the current law in relation to making illegal, among other things, harmful portrayals of familial abuse and any types of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” said a government official.
Campaigners Call For Tighter Online Regulations
Advocates for better regulation of online pornography have urged the authorities to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote abuse by using youthful adults dressed as children.
Suggested amendments to legislation aim to:
- Ban pornography where performers are mimicking children, often filmed in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the crime of making an indecent image of a child to include material where an older performer plays the role of a child.
- Apply stricter controls on incest-themed pornography, which studies indicates is heavily recommended by platform systems.
- Add additional restrictions on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to own tools designed to generate private images without permission.
- Establish a new, independent oversight agency to conduct spot checks on pornography sites and respond to reports of unlawful content.
The campaigners contend that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have existed for years offline finally apply to the digital age.
