UK Pornography Traffic Falls Following Identity Checks, But Virtual Private Network Use Surges, Reports Regulator
Access to pornography platforms in the UK has decreased markedly since the introduction of mandatory age verification earlier this year, according to the country's communications regulator. Simultaneously, the adoption of specialist software designed to bypass these restrictions has increased.
Immediate Fall in User Numbers After Law Implementation
The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July resulted in an swift reduction in traffic to leading pornography sites, including the top site in the UK. Figures reveals that visitor numbers to this site in August stood at 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024.
In total, traffic to the 10 most-visited adult services in the UK have now settled at a “lower level” than prior to the end-of-July deadline. Later data indicates this decline in viewing persisted beyond August.
Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Usage to Evade Restrictions
In response to the new rules, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can get around location-based restrictions by routing connections via another country—more than doubled after 25 July.
User numbers peaked at over 1.4 million in mid-August, up from approximately 650,000 people before the verification were introduced. However, the regulator stated that VPN usage has since fallen back, with current numbers at approximately 900,000. It added that the level of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for pornography sites.
Teenagers Taking Action to Damaging Material
Elsewhere, the watchdog's report revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering damaging content online. Steps taken included reporting the material to the platform to muting the person who posted it.
This research was carried out prior to new rules came into force that require platforms to prevent children from accessing harmful content, such as material related to suicide and adult material. The primary way teenagers encountered such content was by looking through a social media feed, suggesting that algorithms were showing harmful material.
Government Announce Examination of Pornography Legislation
In a related development, the government stated it would examine the legislation governing pornography to consider whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern online world.
“The examination will investigate the efficacy of the existing law in regarding making illegal, for example, harmful depictions of familial abuse and any types of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” said a government official.
Advocates Push For Tighter Online Controls
Campaigners for better regulation of adult content have urged the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote abuse by casting young-looking adults dressed as children.
Proposed changes to legislation seek to:
- Prohibit pornography where adults are impersonating children, sometimes filmed in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the offence of creating an indecent image of a child to include material where an adult plays the role of a child.
- Apply tighter regulation on familial abuse pornography, which research suggests is often promoted by site algorithms.
- Introduce further controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to own software designed to create non-consensual nude images.
- Create a new, independent regulatory body to conduct inspections on pornography sites and act on complaints of illegal content.
The advocates argue that these steps would ensure the protections that have existed for decades offline finally are extended to the online sphere.
