UK Adult Content Site Visits Declines After Age Verifications, Yet Virtual Private Network Usage Surges, Reports Regulator
Traffic to adult content websites in the UK has decreased markedly after the introduction of age-checking measures this summer, according to the nation's communications authority. Simultaneously, the usage of tools designed to bypass these blocks has surged.
Immediate Fall in Visitor Numbers After Rule Enforcement
The enforcement of age verification on 25 July caused an swift reduction in traffic to popular online adult platforms, such as the leading site in the UK. Data shows 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, traffic to the ten most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a markedly decreased volume than before the end-of-July deadline. Subsequent data suggests this downward trend in viewing continued beyond August.
Surge in VPN Usage to Bypass Checks
In response to the new rules, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can circumvent geographic restrictions by masking internet traffic through another country—more than doubled following 25 July.
Usage peaked at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from around 650,000 users before the verification began. Subsequently, the regulator stated that VPN usage has afterwards fallen back, with current numbers at approximately 900,000. It added that the level of daily VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for adult services.
Young People Responding to Damaging Material
In other findings, the watchdog's report revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering damaging content online. Steps taken included reporting the content to the platform to blocking the person who shared it.
This research was conducted prior to new regulations took effect that compel platforms to prevent children from accessing dangerous content, including material related to self-harm and adult material. The primary way teenagers encountered such content was by scrolling through a platform feed, indicating that algorithms were showing inappropriate material.
Government Launch Examination of Adult Content Laws
In a related development, the government announced it would examine the criminal law relating to pornography to assess whether it is adequate in the modern online world.
“The examination will look into the effectiveness of the current law in regarding making illegal, among other things, harmful depictions of incest and any forms of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” stated a government official.
Campaigners Push For Tighter Digital Regulations
Advocates for tighter regulation of adult content 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 adults portraying children.
Suggested changes to legislation seek to:
- Prohibit pornography where adults are impersonating children, often recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the crime of creating an indecent image of a child to cover material where an adult acts the part of a child.
- Apply tighter controls on incest-themed pornography, which studies indicates is often promoted by platform algorithms.
- Add further restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to own tools designed to create private images without permission.
- Create a new, independent regulatory body to conduct spot checks on pornography sites and act on complaints of illegal content.
The advocates argue that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for years in the physical world finally apply to the digital age.
