British Adult Content Traffic Falls Following Age Checks, But Virtual Private Network Usage Surges, Reports Watchdog
Access to pornography platforms in the UK has decreased markedly since the introduction of age-checking measures earlier this year, according to the nation's communications regulator. Simultaneously, the adoption of specialist software designed to dodge these blocks has increased.
Immediate Fall in Visitor Figures After Law Implementation
The introduction of age vetting on 25 July caused an prompt decline in traffic to major pornography sites, including the most visited site in the UK. Figures reveals that user traffic to this site in August stood at 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024.
In total, traffic to the ten top pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a markedly decreased volume than prior to the end-of-July deadline. Later data shows this downward trend in viewing persisted beyond August.
Surge in VPN Adoption to Evade Checks
In response to the new rules, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can circumvent geographic blocks by routing internet traffic via another nation—surged after 25 July.
Usage reached a high at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from around 650,000 people prior to the checks began. However, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has afterwards decreased, with current numbers standing at approximately 900,000. It added that the level of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for pornography sites.
Teenagers Responding to Harmful Online Content
Elsewhere, the regulator's annual study found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing damaging content on the internet. Actions included flagging the material to the site to blocking the person who shared it.
This survey was carried out prior to new regulations came into force that compel social media companies to prevent children from seeing dangerous content, such as material related to self-harm and pornography. The most common way young people encountered such content was by looking through a platform timeline, indicating that recommendation systems were serving inappropriate material.
Government Announce Review of Adult Content Legislation
Separately, the ministers announced it would review the criminal law governing pornography to consider whether it is adequate in the ever-developing digital age.
“The review will look into the effectiveness of the existing law in regarding criminalising, for example, harmful portrayals of familial abuse and any forms of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” said a government official.
Advocates Call For Tighter Digital Regulations
Advocates for tighter regulation of adult content have called on the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote child sexual abuse by casting young-looking adults dressed as children.
Proposed amendments to legislation seek to:
- Prohibit pornography where performers are mimicking children, sometimes filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the offence of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an adult plays the role of a child.
- Introduce stricter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which studies indicates is often promoted by site systems.
- Add further controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to own tools designed to generate private images without permission.
- Establish a new, separate oversight agency to conduct inspections on pornography sites and act on reports of unlawful content.
The advocates argue that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have existed for years offline finally apply to the online sphere.
