🔗 Share this article British Pornography Traffic Falls After Age Checks, Yet VPN Use Spikes, Reports Watchdog Visitor numbers to adult content websites in the UK has seen a notable drop after the introduction of age-checking measures this summer, as reported by the nation's communications watchdog. Simultaneously, the adoption of specialist software designed to circumvent these blocks has risen. Immediate Fall in User Numbers After Law Implementation The enforcement of age verification on 25 July caused an immediate decline in traffic to popular pornography sites, including the leading site in the UK. Figures shows that user traffic to this platform in August reached 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024. Overall, traffic to the ten most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a markedly decreased volume than prior to the end-of-July implementation date. Subsequent analysis indicates this slump in viewing continued past August. Surge in VPN Usage to Bypass Restrictions Reacting to the new rules, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can get around location-based blocks by masking connections via another nation—increased dramatically after 25 July. User numbers peaked at over 1.4 million in mid-August, up from approximately 650,000 people prior to the verification were introduced. However, the regulator noted that VPN usage has since steadily declined, with latest figures standing at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the volume of daily VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for adult services. Young People Taking Action to Harmful Online Content In other findings, the regulator's report found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering harmful content on the internet. Steps taken ranged from flagging the content to the site to blocking the person who posted it. This research was carried out prior to new rules came into force that compel platforms to stop children from seeing harmful content, such as material related to self-harm 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 Laws Separately, the government announced it would examine the criminal law governing pornography to consider whether it is adequate in the modern online world. “The examination will look into the effectiveness of the current law in relation to criminalising, among other things, damaging depictions of familial abuse and any forms of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” stated a government official. Advocates Call For Tighter Online Controls Advocates for better control of online pornography have called on the government to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages child sexual abuse by using young-looking adults portraying children. Suggested amendments to government bills aim to: Prohibit pornography where adults are mimicking children, often recorded in environments like children’s bedrooms. Extend the crime of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an adult acts the part of a child. Apply tighter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which studies suggests is often promoted by platform algorithms. Add additional controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to possess tools designed to generate non-consensual nude images. Create a new, separate oversight agency to perform spot checks on adult platforms and respond to reports of illegal content. The campaigners contend that these steps would ensure the protections that have been enforced for years in the physical world finally are extended to the digital age.
Visitor numbers to adult content websites in the UK has seen a notable drop after the introduction of age-checking measures this summer, as reported by the nation's communications watchdog. Simultaneously, the adoption of specialist software designed to circumvent these blocks has risen. Immediate Fall in User Numbers After Law Implementation The enforcement of age verification on 25 July caused an immediate decline in traffic to popular pornography sites, including the leading site in the UK. Figures shows that user traffic to this platform in August reached 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024. Overall, traffic to the ten most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a markedly decreased volume than prior to the end-of-July implementation date. Subsequent analysis indicates this slump in viewing continued past August. Surge in VPN Usage to Bypass Restrictions Reacting to the new rules, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can get around location-based blocks by masking connections via another nation—increased dramatically after 25 July. User numbers peaked at over 1.4 million in mid-August, up from approximately 650,000 people prior to the verification were introduced. However, the regulator noted that VPN usage has since steadily declined, with latest figures standing at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the volume of daily VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for adult services. Young People Taking Action to Harmful Online Content In other findings, the regulator's report found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering harmful content on the internet. Steps taken ranged from flagging the content to the site to blocking the person who posted it. This research was carried out prior to new rules came into force that compel platforms to stop children from seeing harmful content, such as material related to self-harm 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 Laws Separately, the government announced it would examine the criminal law governing pornography to consider whether it is adequate in the modern online world. “The examination will look into the effectiveness of the current law in relation to criminalising, among other things, damaging depictions of familial abuse and any forms of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” stated a government official. Advocates Call For Tighter Online Controls Advocates for better control of online pornography have called on the government to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages child sexual abuse by using young-looking adults portraying children. Suggested amendments to government bills aim to: Prohibit pornography where adults are mimicking children, often recorded in environments like children’s bedrooms. Extend the crime of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an adult acts the part of a child. Apply tighter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which studies suggests is often promoted by platform algorithms. Add additional controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to possess tools designed to generate non-consensual nude images. Create a new, separate oversight agency to perform spot checks on adult platforms and respond to reports of illegal content. The campaigners contend that these steps would ensure the protections that have been enforced for years in the physical world finally are extended to the digital age.