UK Pornography Traffic Declines After Identity Verifications, But VPN Usage Surges, States Watchdog
Access to adult content websites in the United Kingdom has fallen significantly since the roll-out of age-checking measures earlier this year, as reported by the country's communications authority. Simultaneously, the usage of specialist software designed to bypass these blocks has surged.
Sharp Fall in User Figures Following Law Implementation
The introduction of age vetting on 25 July resulted in an prompt fall in visits to leading pornography sites, including the most visited site in the UK. Figures indicates that visitor numbers to this platform in August stood at 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million compared to the same period in 2024.
In total, visitor numbers to the 10 top pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a significantly reduced level than prior to the end-of-July deadline. Later data indicates this decline in viewing continued beyond August.
Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Usage to Evade Restrictions
In response to the new rules, use of VPN software—which can circumvent geographic blocks by routing internet traffic through another country—surged following 25 July.
User numbers peaked at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from approximately 650,000 people prior to the checks were introduced. Subsequently, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has afterwards decreased, with current numbers standing at around 900,000. It clarified that the volume of daily VPN use is “much lower” than user numbers for pornography services.
Teenagers Responding to Harmful Online Content
Elsewhere, the watchdog's annual study found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing damaging content on the internet. Steps taken ranged from reporting the material to the platform to blocking the person who shared it.
This research was carried out prior to new rules took effect that compel social media companies to prevent children from accessing harmful content, including material related to self-harm and adult material. The primary way young people came across such content was by scrolling through a social media feed, indicating that recommendation systems were showing harmful material.
Government Launch Examination of Pornography Legislation
In a related development, the government announced it would examine the legislation relating to pornography to consider whether it is “fit for purpose” in the ever-developing online world.
“The examination will look into the efficacy of the current law in regarding criminalising, for example, harmful depictions of familial abuse and any types of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” stated a justice minister.
Advocates Call For Stricter Digital Controls
Advocates for better regulation 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 child sexual abuse by using young-looking performers portraying children.
Proposed changes to legislation aim to:
- Ban pornography where performers are mimicking children, often recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the crime of making an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an older performer acts the part of a child.
- Introduce stricter controls on incest-themed pornography, which research suggests is heavily recommended by site algorithms.
- Introduce additional controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to possess software designed to generate private images without permission.
- Create a new, separate oversight agency to perform spot checks on pornography sites and act on complaints of unlawful content.
The campaigners argue that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for years offline finally apply to the online sphere.
