UK Pornography Traffic Falls After Identity Checks, Yet Virtual Private Network Use Surges, Reports Regulator
Traffic to pornography sites in the UK has decreased markedly since the introduction of age-checking measures this summer, as reported by the country's communications authority. Simultaneously, the usage of specialist software designed to circumvent these barriers has increased.
Sharp Drop in User Numbers After Law Implementation
The enforcement of age verification on 25 July led to an immediate fall in visits to leading pornography sites, including the top site in the UK. Data indicates that user traffic to this platform in August stood at 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million compared to the equivalent month in 2024.
In total, visitor numbers to the ten top pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a significantly reduced level than before the end-of-July deadline. Later data shows this decline in viewing continued beyond August.
Surge in VPN Usage to Evade Restrictions
In response to the new regulations, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can bypass location-based restrictions by masking internet traffic through another country—more than doubled after 25 July.
Usage reached a high at over 1.4 million in mid-August, up from approximately 650,000 users before the verification began. Subsequently, the regulator stated that VPN usage has afterwards decreased, with latest figures standing at around 900,000. It added that the volume of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for adult sites.
Young People Taking Action to Harmful Online Content
In other findings, the watchdog's report revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing damaging content online. Steps taken included flagging the content to the platform to muting the person who shared it.
This survey was conducted prior to new rules took effect that require social media companies to prevent children from accessing dangerous content, such as material related to self-harm and pornography. The most common way young people encountered such content was by scrolling through a platform feed, suggesting that algorithms were serving inappropriate material.
Government Announce Examination of Adult Content Legislation
In a related development, the ministers stated it would examine the criminal law relating to pornography to assess whether it is adequate in the ever-developing online world.
“The review will look into the efficacy of the existing law in regarding making illegal, among other things, harmful portrayals of familial abuse and any forms of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” said a justice minister.
Campaigners Call For Tighter Online Regulations
Campaigners for tighter regulation of adult content have called on the government to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages child sexual abuse by using young-looking performers dressed as children.
Suggested amendments to government bills seek to:
- Ban pornography where performers are impersonating children, sometimes recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the offence of making an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an adult acts the part of a child.
- Apply stricter controls on incest-themed pornography, which studies indicates is often promoted by site algorithms.
- Add further restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to possess tools designed to generate non-consensual nude images.
- Establish a new, independent oversight agency to perform inspections on pornography sites and act on complaints of unlawful content.
The advocates argue that these measures would ensure the protections that have been enforced for decades in the physical world finally apply to the online sphere.
