UK Pornography Traffic Falls Following Identity Verifications, But Virtual Private Network Usage Spikes, States Regulator
Traffic to adult content platforms in the UK has seen a notable drop after the enforcement of mandatory age verification earlier this year, as reported by the country's communications regulator. Concurrently, the adoption of specialist software designed to circumvent these barriers has increased.
Immediate Drop in User Figures Following Law Enforcement
The enforcement of age verification on 25 July led to an swift reduction in visits to popular pornography sites, including the leading provider in the UK. Data shows that user traffic to this platform in August reached 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million compared to the same period in 2024.
Overall, visitor numbers to the 10 top pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a “lower level” than prior to the end-of-July implementation date. Subsequent data suggests this decline in site visits persisted past August.
Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Usage to Evade Restrictions
In response to the new regulations, use of VPN software—which can circumvent geographic restrictions by routing internet traffic via another nation—surged following 25 July.
User numbers reached a high at over 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from approximately 650,000 people before the verification began. However, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has afterwards decreased, with current numbers standing at around 900,000. It added that the volume of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for pornography services.
Teenagers Taking Action to Damaging Online Content
Elsewhere, the regulator's annual study revealed that about 60% of teenagers 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 shared it.
This survey was carried out prior to new regulations took effect that compel platforms to stop children from accessing dangerous content, such as material related to self-harm and pornography. The primary way young people encountered such content was by scrolling through a social media feed, indicating that recommendation systems were serving harmful material.
Government Announce Review of Pornography Laws
In a related development, the government stated it would examine the criminal law governing pornography to consider whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern digital age.
“The review will investigate the efficacy of the existing law in relation to criminalising, among other things, harmful portrayals of familial abuse and any forms of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” stated a government official.
Campaigners Call For Stricter Digital Controls
Advocates for tighter regulation of online pornography have called on the authorities to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote abuse by casting youthful performers portraying children.
Proposed amendments to government bills seek to:
- Prohibit pornography where adults are impersonating children, sometimes recorded in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the offence of creating 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 research indicates is often promoted by site algorithms.
- Add additional restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to possess software designed to generate private images without permission.
- Create a new, separate oversight agency to perform inspections on adult platforms and act on complaints of illegal content.
The advocates contend that these steps would ensure the protections that have existed for years in the physical world finally apply to the digital age.
