UK Pornography Traffic Declines After Identity Verifications, Yet Virtual Private Network Use Spikes, States Watchdog

Traffic to adult content sites in the UK has fallen significantly after the enforcement of age-checking measures earlier this year, according to the country's communications authority. At the same time, the adoption of specialist software designed to bypass these barriers has surged.

Immediate Fall in Visitor Figures After Law Implementation

The introduction of age vetting on 25 July resulted in an immediate reduction in visits to leading pornography sites, including the top provider in the UK. Data reveals that visitor numbers to this site in August reached 9.8 million, a decline 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 “lower level” than prior to the end-of-July deadline. Later analysis 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 bypass geographic blocks by routing connections through another country—surged after 25 July.

User numbers peaked at over 1.4 million in mid-August, up from around 650,000 users prior to the verification were introduced. However, the regulator stated that VPN usage has afterwards fallen back, with latest figures at around 900,000. It clarified that the volume of daily VPN use is “much lower” than user numbers for pornography sites.

Young People Responding to Harmful Material

In other findings, the watchdog's report found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing harmful content on the internet. Actions included reporting the material to the platform to muting the user who shared it.

This research was carried out before new rules came into force that compel platforms to stop children from seeing harmful content, including material related to self-harm and adult material. The most common way teenagers came across such content was by looking through a platform feed, suggesting that recommendation systems were showing harmful material.

Ministers Launch Review of Adult Content Legislation

In a related development, the ministers announced it would examine the legislation relating to pornography to assess whether it is adequate in the ever-developing digital age.

“The review will look into the effectiveness of the existing law in relation to making illegal, for example, damaging depictions of familial abuse and any types of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” said a justice minister.

Campaigners Push For Tighter Digital Regulations

Campaigners for better regulation of online pornography have urged the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages abuse by using youthful adults dressed as children.

Proposed changes to legislation seek to:

• Prohibit pornography where performers are impersonating children, often recorded in settings 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.
• Apply stricter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which studies indicates is heavily recommended by platform systems.
• 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, independent regulatory body to perform spot checks on adult platforms and respond to reports of unlawful content.

The campaigners argue that these measures would ensure the protections that have been enforced for years in the physical world finally are extended to the digital age.