British Pornography Traffic Declines Following Identity Checks, But Virtual Private Network Use Spikes, Reports Watchdog
Access to adult content sites in the United Kingdom has decreased markedly since the introduction of age-checking measures this summer, as reported by the nation's communications authority. Concurrently, the usage of tools designed to bypass these restrictions has risen.
Sharp Fall in Visitor Figures Following Rule Implementation
The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July led to an prompt decline in visits to leading pornography sites, including the leading provider in the UK. Data indicates that user traffic to this site in August were 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.
In total, traffic to the 10 most-visited adult services in the UK have now settled at a markedly decreased volume than prior to the late July implementation date. Subsequent data suggests this downward trend in viewing continued beyond August.
Surge in VPN Usage to Evade Checks
In response to the new rules, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can get around geographic blocks by routing connections through another nation—more than doubled after 25 July.
Usage reached a high at over 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from approximately 650,000 people before the checks were introduced. However, the regulator noted that VPN usage has afterwards steadily declined, with current figures standing at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the level of daily VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for pornography services.
Teenagers Responding to Harmful Online Content
In other findings, the watchdog's annual study revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering distressing 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 regulations came into force that require social media companies to prevent children from accessing dangerous content, such as material related to self-harm and pornography. The primary way young people encountered such content was by looking through a social media timeline, indicating that recommendation systems were serving harmful material.
Government Launch Review of Pornography Legislation
In a related development, the government announced it would review the legislation governing pornography to assess whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern digital age.
“The examination will investigate the effectiveness of the existing law in relation to making illegal, among other things, harmful portrayals of familial abuse and any forms of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” stated a government official.
Advocates Push For Stricter Online Controls
Campaigners for better regulation of adult content have called on the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote abuse by casting young-looking adults portraying children.
Proposed amendments to government bills aim to:
- Ban pornography where adults are mimicking children, sometimes recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the crime of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an adult plays the role of a child.
- Introduce stricter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which research suggests is often promoted by site systems.
- Introduce additional controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to own tools designed to create private images without permission.
- Establish a new, independent oversight agency to conduct inspections on pornography sites and respond to complaints of illegal content.
The advocates contend that these steps would ensure the protections that have existed for decades in the physical world finally apply to the digital age.
