🔗 Share this article British Pornography Traffic Falls After Age Checks, Yet Virtual Private Network Usage Surges, States Regulator Traffic to adult content websites in the United Kingdom has decreased markedly since the enforcement of age-checking measures earlier this year, according to the nation's communications regulator. Concurrently, the use of specialist software designed to bypass these restrictions has increased. Immediate Drop in Visitor Numbers Following Rule Implementation The introduction of age vetting on 25 July caused an immediate reduction in traffic to leading pornography sites, such as the most visited provider in the UK. Figures indicates that user traffic to this site in August stood at 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million compared to the same period in 2024. Overall, visitor numbers to the ten most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a markedly decreased volume than before the late July deadline. Subsequent data shows this downward trend in viewing persisted beyond August. Sharp Increase in VPN Usage to Evade Checks Reacting to the new rules, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can bypass geographic restrictions by routing connections via another nation—more than doubled after 25 July. Usage reached a high at over 1.4 million in mid-August, up from approximately 650,000 users before the verification began. Subsequently, the regulator noted that VPN usage has afterwards steadily declined, with latest figures standing at around 900,000. It added that the volume of daily VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for pornography sites. Teenagers Responding to Damaging Online Content In other findings, the watchdog's report found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing harmful content online. Actions included reporting the content to the platform to blocking the person who posted it. This research was conducted before new rules came into force that compel social media companies to prevent children from accessing harmful content, such as material related to self-harm and adult material. The primary way teenagers encountered such content was by scrolling through a platform timeline, indicating that recommendation systems were serving harmful material. Government Announce Examination of Adult Content Legislation In a related development, the government announced it would review the legislation relating to pornography to consider whether it is effective in the ever-developing digital age. “The review will investigate the efficacy of the current law in relation to criminalising, for example, harmful depictions of incest and any forms of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” said a justice minister. Campaigners Push For Stricter Online Regulations Campaigners for tighter control of online pornography have urged the government to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages child sexual abuse by casting young-looking adults dressed as children. Suggested amendments to government bills aim to: Ban pornography where performers are mimicking children, often filmed in settings like children’s bedrooms. Extend the offence of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an older performer acts the part of a child. Introduce tighter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which research suggests is heavily recommended by platform algorithms. Add additional restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to own tools designed to generate non-consensual nude images. Establish a new, separate regulatory body to perform inspections on pornography sites and act on reports of illegal content. The advocates argue that these measures would ensure the protections that have been enforced for years in the physical world finally are extended to the online sphere.
Traffic to adult content websites in the United Kingdom has decreased markedly since the enforcement of age-checking measures earlier this year, according to the nation's communications regulator. Concurrently, the use of specialist software designed to bypass these restrictions has increased. Immediate Drop in Visitor Numbers Following Rule Implementation The introduction of age vetting on 25 July caused an immediate reduction in traffic to leading pornography sites, such as the most visited provider in the UK. Figures indicates that user traffic to this site in August stood at 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million compared to the same period in 2024. Overall, visitor numbers to the ten most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a markedly decreased volume than before the late July deadline. Subsequent data shows this downward trend in viewing persisted beyond August. Sharp Increase in VPN Usage to Evade Checks Reacting to the new rules, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can bypass geographic restrictions by routing connections via another nation—more than doubled after 25 July. Usage reached a high at over 1.4 million in mid-August, up from approximately 650,000 users before the verification began. Subsequently, the regulator noted that VPN usage has afterwards steadily declined, with latest figures standing at around 900,000. It added that the volume of daily VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for pornography sites. Teenagers Responding to Damaging Online Content In other findings, the watchdog's report found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing harmful content online. Actions included reporting the content to the platform to blocking the person who posted it. This research was conducted before new rules came into force that compel social media companies to prevent children from accessing harmful content, such as material related to self-harm and adult material. The primary way teenagers encountered such content was by scrolling through a platform timeline, indicating that recommendation systems were serving harmful material. Government Announce Examination of Adult Content Legislation In a related development, the government announced it would review the legislation relating to pornography to consider whether it is effective in the ever-developing digital age. “The review will investigate the efficacy of the current law in relation to criminalising, for example, harmful depictions of incest and any forms of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” said a justice minister. Campaigners Push For Stricter Online Regulations Campaigners for tighter control of online pornography have urged the government to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages child sexual abuse by casting young-looking adults dressed as children. Suggested amendments to government bills aim to: Ban pornography where performers are mimicking children, often filmed in settings like children’s bedrooms. Extend the offence of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an older performer acts the part of a child. Introduce tighter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which research suggests is heavily recommended by platform algorithms. Add additional restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to own tools designed to generate non-consensual nude images. Establish a new, separate regulatory body to perform inspections on pornography sites and act on reports of illegal content. The advocates argue that these measures would ensure the protections that have been enforced for years in the physical world finally are extended to the online sphere.