British Adult Content Site Visits Declines After Age Checks, Yet VPN Usage Spikes, Reports Watchdog
Traffic to pornography sites in the United Kingdom has seen a notable drop since the enforcement of age-checking measures this summer, as reported by the country's communications authority. Concurrently, the usage of specialist software designed to circumvent these blocks has risen.
Sharp Drop in User Figures Following Law Enforcement
The introduction of age vetting on 25 July caused an immediate decline in traffic to major pornography sites, including the leading provider in the UK. Data reveals that user traffic to this site in August reached 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million compared to the same period in 2024.
Overall, visitor numbers to the 10 most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a significantly reduced level than prior to the late July deadline. Later data indicates this slump in site visits continued beyond August.
Sharp Increase in VPN Usage to Bypass Restrictions
Reacting to the new rules, adoption of VPN software—which can circumvent geographic restrictions by masking internet traffic via another country—surged after 25 July.
Usage peaked at over 1.4 million in mid-August, up from approximately 650,000 users before the checks began. Subsequently, the regulator noted that VPN usage has afterwards fallen back, with current numbers at around 900,000. It added that the volume of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for adult sites.
Teenagers Taking Action to Damaging Online Content
Elsewhere, the regulator's report found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering damaging content on the internet. Actions included reporting the material to the site to muting the user who posted it.
This survey was carried out prior to new regulations came into force that require platforms to stop children from accessing dangerous content, such as material related to self-harm and adult material. The most common way teenagers came across such content was by looking through a platform feed, indicating that recommendation systems were serving inappropriate material.
Government Announce Examination of Adult Content Legislation
In a related development, the ministers announced it would examine the criminal law relating to pornography to consider whether it is adequate in the ever-developing online world.
“The review will look into the efficacy of the current law in relation to criminalising, among other things, harmful depictions of familial abuse and any types of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” said a justice minister.
Campaigners Call For Tighter Online Regulations
Advocates for better control of online pornography have urged the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that encourages child sexual abuse by casting young-looking adults dressed as children.
Suggested changes to government bills aim to:
- Ban pornography where adults are impersonating children, often recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the offence of creating an indecent image of a child to include material where an adult acts the part of a child.
- Introduce tighter controls on familial abuse pornography, which research indicates is heavily recommended by site algorithms.
- Add further restrictions on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to possess software designed to generate non-consensual nude images.
- Establish a new, independent oversight agency to perform spot checks 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 in the physical world finally apply to the digital age.
