British Pornography Traffic Falls After Identity Verifications, Yet VPN Usage Surges, Reports Regulator
Visitor numbers to pornography sites in the UK has seen a notable drop since the introduction of mandatory age verification this summer, according to the country's communications regulator. Concurrently, the usage of specialist software designed to circumvent these barriers has risen.
Sharp Fall in Visitor Numbers After Rule Enforcement
The introduction of age verification on 25 July caused an immediate fall in traffic to popular pornography sites, including the top provider in the UK. Data reveals that visitor numbers to this site in August were 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.
In total, visitor numbers to the ten top pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a “lower level” than before the end-of-July deadline. Subsequent data shows this slump in viewing persisted beyond August.
Surge in VPN Usage to Bypass Checks
Reacting to the new regulations, use of VPN software—which can circumvent geographic blocks by masking connections via another country—increased dramatically after 25 July.
User numbers peaked at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from around 650,000 users prior to the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has since steadily declined, with current numbers standing at approximately 900,000. It added that the level of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for adult sites.
Teenagers Taking Action to Damaging Online Content
In other findings, the regulator's annual study revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing distressing content on the internet. Steps taken included reporting the content to the site to blocking the person who shared it.
This research was carried out before new regulations came into force that compel platforms to stop children from accessing dangerous content, including material related to self-harm and pornography. The most common way teenagers came across such content was by looking through a platform feed, suggesting that recommendation systems were showing inappropriate material.
Government Announce Examination of Adult Content Laws
In a related development, the government announced it would review the legislation relating to pornography to assess whether it is effective in the ever-developing digital age.
“The review will investigate the efficacy of the current law in regarding making illegal, for example, damaging portrayals of familial abuse and any types of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” said a government official.
Advocates Call For Stricter Online Regulations
Campaigners for better regulation of online pornography have called on the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring incest scenes or that encourages abuse by using youthful performers dressed as children.
Suggested amendments to legislation seek to:
- Prohibit pornography where performers are impersonating children, sometimes filmed in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the offence of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an adult plays the role of a child.
- Introduce stricter controls on familial abuse pornography, which research indicates is often promoted by site algorithms.
- Add further controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to own tools designed to create non-consensual nude images.
- Create a new, independent regulatory body to conduct spot checks on adult platforms and respond to reports of illegal content.
The campaigners argue that these steps would ensure the protections that have existed for decades offline finally apply to the digital age.
