British Adult Content Traffic Declines Following Identity Verifications, Yet Virtual Private Network Usage Surges, States Watchdog

Access to pornography websites in the United Kingdom has seen a notable drop after the introduction of age-checking measures earlier this year, according to the nation's communications watchdog. Simultaneously, the use of tools designed to dodge these barriers has risen.

Immediate Fall in User Numbers Following Law Enforcement

The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July caused an immediate reduction in visits to popular pornography sites, such as the leading provider in the UK. Figures indicates that user traffic to this platform in August stood at 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024.

In total, visitor numbers to the 10 most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a significantly reduced level than prior to the late July deadline. Later analysis shows this slump in viewing continued past August.

Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Usage to Bypass Restrictions

In response to the new rules, use of VPN software—which can get around geographic blocks by masking internet traffic through another nation—surged following 25 July.

User numbers reached a high at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from approximately 650,000 people prior to the checks began. However, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has afterwards steadily declined, with current numbers standing at around 900,000. It clarified that the level of daily VPN use is “much lower” than user numbers for pornography sites.

Young People Responding to Damaging Material

Elsewhere, the watchdog's annual study found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing harmful content on the internet. Actions included flagging the content to the platform to muting the user who shared it.

This research was conducted prior to new rules came into force that require platforms to stop children from seeing harmful content, including material related to suicide and pornography. The most common way teenagers came across such content was by looking through a platform timeline, indicating that recommendation systems were serving harmful material.

Government Announce Examination of Pornography Legislation

Separately, the ministers announced it would review the criminal law relating to pornography to assess whether it is effective in the modern digital age.

“The examination will look into the efficacy of the current law in relation to making illegal, among other things, harmful portrayals of incest and any forms of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” stated a government official.

Campaigners Call For Tighter Online Controls

Advocates for better regulation of online pornography have called on the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring incest scenes or that encourages child sexual abuse by casting youthful performers dressed as children.

Suggested amendments to government bills seek to:

• Prohibit pornography where adults are impersonating children, sometimes recorded in environments like children’s bedrooms.
• Broaden the crime of creating an indecent image of a child to cover material where an older performer acts the part of a child.
• Apply stricter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which research suggests is heavily recommended by platform algorithms.
• Introduce further controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to own tools designed to create private images without permission.
• Create a new, separate oversight agency to perform spot checks on adult platforms and act on reports of illegal content.

The campaigners argue that these steps would ensure the protections that have been enforced for years in the physical world finally are extended to the online sphere.