British Pornography Traffic Declines After Identity Verifications, But VPN Use Surges, Reports Regulator
Visitor numbers to adult content websites in the United Kingdom has fallen significantly since the introduction of mandatory age verification earlier this year, according to the nation's communications regulator. Simultaneously, the use of specialist software designed to bypass these barriers has surged.
Sharp Drop in Visitor Numbers After Rule Enforcement
The introduction of age verification on 25 July led to an prompt decline in visits to leading online adult platforms, including the leading provider in the UK. Figures reveals that user traffic to this site 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 top adult services in the UK have now settled at a significantly reduced level than prior to the late July deadline. Later data shows this slump in viewing persisted past August.
Sharp Increase in VPN Usage to Evade Restrictions
In response to the new regulations, adoption of VPN software—which can circumvent location-based restrictions by masking internet traffic through another nation—more than doubled after 25 July.
Usage peaked at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from approximately 650,000 people before the verification were introduced. However, the regulator noted that VPN usage has since steadily declined, with latest figures at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the volume of regular VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for adult services.
Young People Responding to Harmful Material
Elsewhere, the watchdog's annual study found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing damaging content online. Steps taken ranged from reporting the material to the platform to blocking the person who posted it.
This survey was carried out prior to new regulations came into force that require social media companies to stop children from seeing harmful content, such as material related to self-harm and pornography. The primary way teenagers encountered such content was by scrolling through a social media feed, indicating that algorithms were serving harmful material.
Government Announce Review of Pornography Legislation
In a related development, the government announced it would review the legislation relating to pornography to assess whether it is adequate in the ever-developing online world.
“The review will look into the effectiveness of the existing law in regarding criminalising, for example, harmful depictions of incest and any forms of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” stated a government official.
Advocates Call For Stricter Digital Controls
Campaigners for better regulation of online pornography have urged the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring incest scenes or that encourages child sexual abuse by using young-looking performers portraying children.
Suggested changes to legislation seek to:
- Ban pornography where adults are impersonating children, sometimes recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the crime of making an indecent image of a child to include material where an older performer acts the part of a child.
- Apply stricter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which research suggests is often promoted by site systems.
- Add further restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to possess software designed to create private images without permission.
- Establish a new, independent oversight agency to perform inspections on pornography sites and act on complaints of illegal content.
The advocates contend that these steps would ensure the protections that have existed for years offline finally are extended to the online sphere.
