UK Adult Content Traffic Declines After Identity Checks, But Virtual Private Network Usage Spikes, Reports Regulator
Access to adult content sites in the UK has decreased markedly after the roll-out of age-checking measures this summer, as reported by the nation's communications watchdog. Concurrently, the adoption of tools designed to bypass these blocks has increased.
Immediate Drop in Visitor Figures Following Law Enforcement
The introduction of age verification on 25 July caused an prompt decline in visits to popular pornography sites, such as the leading provider in the UK. Data shows that user traffic to this site in August stood at 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.
Overall, traffic to the ten top pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a “lower level” than before the end-of-July implementation date. Later data suggests this decline in site visits continued past August.
Surge in Virtual Private Network Usage to Evade Checks
Reacting to the new regulations, adoption of VPN software—which can circumvent location-based restrictions by routing internet traffic via another country—surged following 25 July.
User numbers peaked at over 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from approximately 650,000 users prior to the checks were introduced. Subsequently, the regulator noted that VPN usage has afterwards steadily declined, with latest numbers at around 900,000. It clarified that the volume of daily VPN use is “much lower” than user numbers for pornography services.
Young People Responding to Harmful Online Content
Elsewhere, the watchdog's annual study found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing harmful content on the internet. Steps taken ranged from reporting the material to the platform to muting the person who shared it.
This research was conducted before new rules came into force that compel social media companies to stop children from seeing harmful content, such as material related to suicide and adult material. The primary way teenagers encountered such content was by scrolling through a social media feed, indicating that algorithms were showing inappropriate material.
Ministers Announce Examination of Adult Content Laws
Separately, the government announced it would review the criminal law governing pornography to assess whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern online world.
“The review will look into the effectiveness of the existing law in regarding criminalising, for example, damaging depictions of familial abuse and any forms of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” said a justice minister.
Campaigners Push For Tighter Online Controls
Campaigners for tighter control of adult content have urged the authorities to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote child sexual abuse by using young-looking adults dressed as children.
Suggested amendments to legislation aim to:
- Ban pornography where performers are impersonating children, often filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the crime of creating an indecent image of a child to cover material where an adult acts the part of a child.
- Apply tighter controls on familial abuse pornography, which studies suggests is heavily recommended by platform systems.
- Add additional restrictions on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to possess software designed to generate private images without permission.
- Create a new, independent oversight agency to perform inspections on pornography sites and act on reports of illegal content.
The campaigners contend that these measures would ensure the protections that have been enforced for decades in the physical world finally apply to the digital age.
