UK Pornography Traffic Falls After Age Verifications, But VPN Use Surges, States Regulator
Access to pornography platforms in the United Kingdom has decreased markedly since the introduction of mandatory age verification earlier this year, as reported by the nation's communications regulator. At the same time, the adoption of tools designed to dodge these blocks has increased.
Immediate Drop in Visitor Numbers After Law Implementation
The introduction of age verification on 25 July resulted in an swift fall in traffic to leading pornography sites, such as the most visited provider in the UK. Figures 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.
In total, visitor numbers to the ten top adult services in the UK have now settled at a “lower level” than before the late July deadline. Later data shows this slump in viewing continued past August.
Sharp Increase in VPN Usage to Evade Checks
Reacting to the new rules, adoption of VPN software—which can bypass location-based blocks by masking internet traffic via another country—increased dramatically after 25 July.
Usage peaked at over 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from around 650,000 people before the verification began. Subsequently, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has since decreased, with latest numbers standing at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the volume of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for pornography services.
Teenagers Responding to Damaging Material
In other findings, the regulator's report found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing harmful content online. Actions included reporting the material to the site to muting the user who posted it.
This research was conducted prior to new regulations took effect that require platforms to stop children from accessing dangerous content, such as material related to suicide and adult material. The primary way teenagers came across such content was by scrolling through a platform feed, indicating that algorithms were serving harmful material.
Government Launch Examination of Pornography Legislation
In a related development, the government announced it would review the legislation governing pornography to assess whether it is adequate in the modern online world.
“The review will look into the efficacy of the existing law in regarding making illegal, for example, damaging depictions of familial abuse and any forms of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” stated a government official.
Advocates Push For Stricter Online Controls
Advocates for tighter regulation of adult content have called on the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that encourages child sexual abuse by casting youthful performers dressed as children.
Proposed amendments to legislation seek to:
- Prohibit pornography where adults are impersonating children, often filmed in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the crime of making an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an older performer acts the part of a child.
- Apply stricter controls on familial abuse pornography, which studies suggests is often promoted by platform systems.
- Add additional restrictions on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to possess tools designed to generate private images without permission.
- Create a new, independent regulatory body to conduct spot checks on adult platforms and respond to complaints of illegal content.
The campaigners argue that these steps would ensure the protections that have existed for decades in the physical world finally apply to the digital age.
