🔗 Share this article British Pornography Traffic Declines Following Age Checks, Yet Virtual Private Network Use Spikes, States Watchdog Visitor numbers to pornography platforms in the UK has seen a notable drop since the enforcement of age-checking measures earlier this year, according to the country's communications authority. Concurrently, the adoption of tools designed to circumvent these blocks has surged. Sharp Fall in Visitor Figures After Law Enforcement The introduction of age verification on 25 July caused an swift reduction in visits to leading online adult platforms, including the leading site in the UK. Data indicates that user traffic to this platform in August were 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million compared to the same period in 2024. Overall, traffic to the ten top pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a significantly reduced level than prior to the end-of-July implementation date. Subsequent data suggests this decline in viewing persisted beyond August. Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network 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. User numbers reached a high at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from approximately 650,000 people before the checks were introduced. Subsequently, the regulator stated that VPN usage has since fallen back, with latest figures at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the level of daily VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for pornography sites. Young People Responding to Damaging Material Elsewhere, the watchdog's report found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing distressing content on the internet. Actions included flagging the content to the site to blocking the person who posted it. This survey was carried out before new rules took effect that compel platforms to prevent children from accessing dangerous content, including material related to self-harm and pornography. The primary way young people encountered such content was by scrolling through a platform timeline, indicating that recommendation systems were serving harmful material. Ministers Announce Review of Pornography Legislation Separately, the government announced it would review the criminal law governing pornography to assess whether it is adequate in the ever-developing digital age. “The review will investigate the effectiveness of the current law in regarding criminalising, for example, damaging depictions of incest and any forms of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” said a government official. Advocates Push For Tighter Online Regulations Advocates for tighter control of adult content have called on the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that encourages abuse by casting young-looking performers portraying children. Proposed amendments to legislation aim to: Prohibit pornography where adults are mimicking children, sometimes recorded in environments like children’s bedrooms. Extend the crime of making an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an adult acts the part of a child. Introduce tighter controls on incest-themed pornography, which studies suggests is often promoted 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 oversight agency to perform spot checks on pornography sites and respond to complaints of unlawful content. The advocates argue that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have existed for years in the physical world finally are extended to the digital age.
Visitor numbers to pornography platforms in the UK has seen a notable drop since the enforcement of age-checking measures earlier this year, according to the country's communications authority. Concurrently, the adoption of tools designed to circumvent these blocks has surged. Sharp Fall in Visitor Figures After Law Enforcement The introduction of age verification on 25 July caused an swift reduction in visits to leading online adult platforms, including the leading site in the UK. Data indicates that user traffic to this platform in August were 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million compared to the same period in 2024. Overall, traffic to the ten top pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a significantly reduced level than prior to the end-of-July implementation date. Subsequent data suggests this decline in viewing persisted beyond August. Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network 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. User numbers reached a high at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from approximately 650,000 people before the checks were introduced. Subsequently, the regulator stated that VPN usage has since fallen back, with latest figures at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the level of daily VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for pornography sites. Young People Responding to Damaging Material Elsewhere, the watchdog's report found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing distressing content on the internet. Actions included flagging the content to the site to blocking the person who posted it. This survey was carried out before new rules took effect that compel platforms to prevent children from accessing dangerous content, including material related to self-harm and pornography. The primary way young people encountered such content was by scrolling through a platform timeline, indicating that recommendation systems were serving harmful material. Ministers Announce Review of Pornography Legislation Separately, the government announced it would review the criminal law governing pornography to assess whether it is adequate in the ever-developing digital age. “The review will investigate the effectiveness of the current law in regarding criminalising, for example, damaging depictions of incest and any forms of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” said a government official. Advocates Push For Tighter Online Regulations Advocates for tighter control of adult content have called on the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that encourages abuse by casting young-looking performers portraying children. Proposed amendments to legislation aim to: Prohibit pornography where adults are mimicking children, sometimes recorded in environments like children’s bedrooms. Extend the crime of making an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an adult acts the part of a child. Introduce tighter controls on incest-themed pornography, which studies suggests is often promoted 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 oversight agency to perform spot checks on pornography sites and respond to complaints of unlawful content. The advocates argue that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have existed for years in the physical world finally are extended to the digital age.