British Adult Content Traffic Declines Following Identity Verifications, Yet Virtual Private Network Usage Surges, States Regulator
Traffic to adult content websites in the UK has fallen significantly since the introduction of age-checking measures earlier this year, according to the country's communications regulator. At the same time, the use of specialist software designed to bypass these barriers has risen.
Immediate Fall in User Numbers After Rule Implementation
The enforcement of age verification on 25 July led to an prompt decline in visits to leading pornography sites, including the top provider in the UK. Figures indicates that visitor numbers to this platform in August were 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024.
In total, traffic to the ten most-visited adult services in the UK have now settled at a “lower level” than before the end-of-July implementation date. Subsequent data shows this slump in site visits persisted beyond August.
Sharp Increase in VPN Usage to Bypass Restrictions
Reacting to the new regulations, use of VPN software—which can get around location-based blocks by routing internet traffic through another country—increased dramatically following 25 July.
User numbers peaked at over 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from around 650,000 people before the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has since steadily declined, with current numbers at approximately 900,000. It added that the volume of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for pornography services.
Young People Responding to Damaging Online Content
In other findings, the watchdog's annual study found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing distressing content on the internet. Steps taken included flagging the content to the platform to muting the person who posted it.
This survey was conducted prior to new rules took effect that require social media companies to stop children from accessing harmful content, such as material related to self-harm and adult material. The primary way young people encountered such content was by scrolling through a social media feed, suggesting that recommendation systems were showing harmful material.
Ministers Launch Review of Adult Content Laws
In a related development, the ministers announced it would examine the legislation relating to pornography to consider whether it is adequate in the ever-developing online world.
“The review will look into the effectiveness of the existing law in relation to criminalising, for example, damaging depictions of incest and any forms of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” stated a government official.
Advocates Push For Stricter Digital Regulations
Campaigners for better control of online pornography have called on the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring incest scenes or that encourages abuse by casting young-looking adults portraying children.
Proposed changes to legislation aim to:
- Ban pornography where performers are mimicking children, sometimes recorded in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the offence of creating an indecent image of a child to cover material where an adult acts the part of a child.
- Apply tighter regulation on familial abuse pornography, which research suggests is heavily recommended by site algorithms.
- Add further restrictions on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to possess tools designed to create non-consensual nude images.
- Create a new, separate regulatory body to conduct inspections on pornography sites and act on reports of illegal content.
The campaigners contend that these steps would ensure the protections that have existed for decades in the physical world finally are extended to the online sphere.
