British Adult Content Traffic Falls Following Age Checks, Yet Virtual Private Network Usage Spikes, States Regulator
Visitor numbers to adult content sites in the UK has decreased markedly after the roll-out of age-checking measures earlier this year, according to the country's communications regulator. At the same time, the usage of specialist software designed to circumvent these barriers has risen.
Immediate Drop in Visitor Figures After Rule Implementation
The introduction of age verification on 25 July led to an immediate fall in traffic to leading online adult platforms, such as the top site in the UK. Figures indicates that user traffic to this site in August were 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million compared to the equivalent month in 2024.
Overall, visitor numbers to the 10 most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a significantly reduced level than prior to the end-of-July implementation date. Subsequent data shows this downward trend in viewing continued past August.
Surge in VPN Usage to Bypass Checks
In response to the new rules, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can bypass location-based restrictions by masking connections via another country—increased dramatically after 25 July.
Usage reached a high at more than 1.4 million in mid-August, up from approximately 650,000 users before the verification were introduced. However, the regulator stated that VPN usage has afterwards steadily declined, with latest numbers standing at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the level of regular VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for adult services.
Teenagers Taking Action to Harmful Material
Elsewhere, the regulator's annual study revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing damaging content online. Actions ranged from reporting the material to the site to muting the person who shared it.
This survey was conducted before new rules took effect that require platforms to stop children from accessing dangerous content, including material related to self-harm and pornography. The primary way young people came across such content was by looking through a social media timeline, indicating that recommendation systems were serving harmful material.
Ministers Launch Examination of Pornography Legislation
Separately, the ministers announced it would examine the legislation relating to pornography to consider whether it is effective in the modern online world.
“The review will look into the efficacy of the current law in relation to criminalising, among other things, harmful portrayals of incest and any forms of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” said a government official.
Campaigners Call For Tighter Online Regulations
Advocates for tighter regulation of online pornography have urged the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote child sexual abuse by using young-looking adults dressed as children.
Suggested amendments to legislation seek to:
- Prohibit pornography where adults are mimicking children, often recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the crime of making an indecent image of a child to include material where an adult acts the part of a child.
- Introduce stricter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which research suggests is often promoted by site algorithms.
- Add further restrictions on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to own tools designed to create non-consensual nude images.
- Create a new, separate regulatory body to conduct inspections on pornography sites and act on reports of illegal content.
The advocates argue that these measures would ensure the protections that have been enforced for decades in the physical world finally are extended to the digital age.
