🔗 Share this article British Adult Content Traffic Declines After Age Verifications, But VPN Usage Surges, Reports Regulator Traffic to pornography platforms in the UK has fallen significantly after the enforcement of mandatory age verification this summer, according to the nation's communications regulator. Simultaneously, the adoption of tools designed to bypass these barriers has increased. Immediate Drop in User Figures Following Rule Enforcement The introduction of age verification on 25 July led to an immediate reduction in visits to major online adult platforms, including the leading site in the UK. Figures indicates that user traffic to this platform in August stood at 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024. Overall, traffic to the 10 top pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a significantly reduced level than prior to the late July implementation date. Subsequent data shows this slump in site visits persisted beyond August. Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Usage to Bypass Restrictions Reacting to the new regulations, adoption of VPN software—which can circumvent location-based restrictions by routing internet traffic via another country—more than doubled following 25 July. User numbers reached a high at over 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from around 650,000 users prior to the verification began. However, the regulator noted that VPN usage has afterwards decreased, with latest numbers at around 900,000. It clarified that the volume of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for pornography sites. Teenagers Taking Action to Harmful Online Content In other findings, the watchdog's annual study revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering damaging content on the internet. Actions included reporting the material to the site to blocking the person who posted it. This research was carried out prior to new rules took effect that compel social media companies to stop children from accessing dangerous content, including material related to suicide and adult material. The primary way teenagers came across such content was by scrolling through a social media feed, suggesting that recommendation systems were showing inappropriate material. Government Launch Examination of Pornography Laws Separately, the government stated it would examine 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 current law in relation to criminalising, for example, damaging depictions of familial abuse and any types of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” stated a government official. Campaigners Call For Tighter Online Regulations Campaigners for better control of adult content have urged the authorities to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring incest scenes or that encourages abuse by using youthful adults portraying children. Suggested changes to government bills seek to: Prohibit pornography where adults are impersonating children, sometimes recorded in environments like children’s bedrooms. Extend the crime of creating an indecent image of a child to cover material where an adult acts the part of a child. Apply stricter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which research indicates is often promoted by site systems. Introduce additional controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to own tools designed to create private images without permission. Establish a new, independent oversight agency to conduct inspections on pornography sites and act on reports of illegal content. The advocates contend that these measures would ensure the protections that have been enforced for decades offline finally are extended to the digital age.
Traffic to pornography platforms in the UK has fallen significantly after the enforcement of mandatory age verification this summer, according to the nation's communications regulator. Simultaneously, the adoption of tools designed to bypass these barriers has increased. Immediate Drop in User Figures Following Rule Enforcement The introduction of age verification on 25 July led to an immediate reduction in visits to major online adult platforms, including the leading site in the UK. Figures indicates that user traffic to this platform in August stood at 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024. Overall, traffic to the 10 top pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a significantly reduced level than prior to the late July implementation date. Subsequent data shows this slump in site visits persisted beyond August. Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Usage to Bypass Restrictions Reacting to the new regulations, adoption of VPN software—which can circumvent location-based restrictions by routing internet traffic via another country—more than doubled following 25 July. User numbers reached a high at over 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from around 650,000 users prior to the verification began. However, the regulator noted that VPN usage has afterwards decreased, with latest numbers at around 900,000. It clarified that the volume of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for pornography sites. Teenagers Taking Action to Harmful Online Content In other findings, the watchdog's annual study revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering damaging content on the internet. Actions included reporting the material to the site to blocking the person who posted it. This research was carried out prior to new rules took effect that compel social media companies to stop children from accessing dangerous content, including material related to suicide and adult material. The primary way teenagers came across such content was by scrolling through a social media feed, suggesting that recommendation systems were showing inappropriate material. Government Launch Examination of Pornography Laws Separately, the government stated it would examine 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 current law in relation to criminalising, for example, damaging depictions of familial abuse and any types of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” stated a government official. Campaigners Call For Tighter Online Regulations Campaigners for better control of adult content have urged the authorities to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring incest scenes or that encourages abuse by using youthful adults portraying children. Suggested changes to government bills seek to: Prohibit pornography where adults are impersonating children, sometimes recorded in environments like children’s bedrooms. Extend the crime of creating an indecent image of a child to cover material where an adult acts the part of a child. Apply stricter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which research indicates is often promoted by site systems. Introduce additional controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to own tools designed to create private images without permission. Establish a new, independent oversight agency to conduct inspections on pornography sites and act on reports of illegal content. The advocates contend that these measures would ensure the protections that have been enforced for decades offline finally are extended to the digital age.