🔗 Share this article British Pornography Traffic Falls Following Age Checks, Yet Virtual Private Network Use Surges, Reports Watchdog Access to adult content platforms in the United Kingdom has seen a notable drop since the enforcement of mandatory age verification this summer, as reported by the nation's communications authority. At the same time, the usage of tools designed to circumvent these barriers has risen. Sharp Fall in Visitor Figures Following Rule Implementation The introduction of age verification on 25 July resulted in an immediate fall in visits to popular pornography sites, including the most visited provider in the UK. Data indicates that visitor numbers to this site in August were 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million compared to the equivalent month in 2024. In total, traffic to the ten top pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a “lower level” than prior to the late July deadline. Later analysis indicates this slump in site visits persisted past August. Surge in VPN Usage to Bypass Restrictions Reacting to the new regulations, use of VPN software—which can get around location-based restrictions by masking internet traffic via another nation—increased dramatically after 25 July. User numbers peaked at over 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from around 650,000 people prior to the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has afterwards fallen back, with current figures at approximately 900,000. It added that the volume of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for pornography services. Young People Responding to Harmful Material Elsewhere, the watchdog'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 flagging the material to the site to blocking the user who posted it. This survey was conducted before new rules came into force that require platforms to prevent children from seeing dangerous content, such as material related to suicide and pornography. The most common way young people encountered such content was by scrolling through a platform timeline, suggesting that algorithms were showing inappropriate material. Government Announce Examination of Pornography Laws In a related development, the ministers stated it would review the criminal law relating to pornography to assess whether it is adequate in the ever-developing digital age. “The review will look into the effectiveness of the current law in regarding making illegal, among other things, damaging portrayals of familial abuse and any types of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” stated a justice minister. Advocates Push For Stricter Digital Regulations Campaigners for tighter control of adult content have called on the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote child sexual abuse by casting youthful adults dressed as children. Suggested changes to legislation aim to: Ban pornography where adults are impersonating children, sometimes filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms. Broaden the offence of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an adult plays the role of a child. Introduce tighter controls on familial abuse pornography, which research indicates is heavily recommended by platform systems. Add further restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to own software designed to create non-consensual nude images. Create a new, separate regulatory body to perform inspections on adult platforms and respond to reports of unlawful content. The advocates argue that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for decades offline finally apply to the digital age.
Access to adult content platforms in the United Kingdom has seen a notable drop since the enforcement of mandatory age verification this summer, as reported by the nation's communications authority. At the same time, the usage of tools designed to circumvent these barriers has risen. Sharp Fall in Visitor Figures Following Rule Implementation The introduction of age verification on 25 July resulted in an immediate fall in visits to popular pornography sites, including the most visited provider in the UK. Data indicates that visitor numbers to this site in August were 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million compared to the equivalent month in 2024. In total, traffic to the ten top pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a “lower level” than prior to the late July deadline. Later analysis indicates this slump in site visits persisted past August. Surge in VPN Usage to Bypass Restrictions Reacting to the new regulations, use of VPN software—which can get around location-based restrictions by masking internet traffic via another nation—increased dramatically after 25 July. User numbers peaked at over 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from around 650,000 people prior to the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has afterwards fallen back, with current figures at approximately 900,000. It added that the volume of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for pornography services. Young People Responding to Harmful Material Elsewhere, the watchdog'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 flagging the material to the site to blocking the user who posted it. This survey was conducted before new rules came into force that require platforms to prevent children from seeing dangerous content, such as material related to suicide and pornography. The most common way young people encountered such content was by scrolling through a platform timeline, suggesting that algorithms were showing inappropriate material. Government Announce Examination of Pornography Laws In a related development, the ministers stated it would review the criminal law relating to pornography to assess whether it is adequate in the ever-developing digital age. “The review will look into the effectiveness of the current law in regarding making illegal, among other things, damaging portrayals of familial abuse and any types of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” stated a justice minister. Advocates Push For Stricter Digital Regulations Campaigners for tighter control of adult content have called on the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote child sexual abuse by casting youthful adults dressed as children. Suggested changes to legislation aim to: Ban pornography where adults are impersonating children, sometimes filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms. Broaden the offence of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an adult plays the role of a child. Introduce tighter controls on familial abuse pornography, which research indicates is heavily recommended by platform systems. Add further restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to own software designed to create non-consensual nude images. Create a new, separate regulatory body to perform inspections on adult platforms and respond to reports of unlawful content. The advocates argue that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for decades offline finally apply to the digital age.