🔗 Share this article British Adult Content Site Visits Falls After Age Verifications, But VPN Usage Spikes, States Regulator Traffic to pornography platforms in the UK has fallen significantly since the enforcement of age-checking measures this summer, as reported by the country's communications regulator. At the same time, the usage of tools designed to bypass these restrictions has increased. Immediate Fall in Visitor Numbers After Law Enforcement The introduction of age verification on 25 July caused an swift decline in visits to popular online adult platforms, including the top provider in the UK. Data reveals that visitor numbers to this platform 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 before the late July deadline. Subsequent analysis shows this downward trend in viewing continued past August. Surge in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Evade Checks In response to the new rules, use of VPN software—which can get around geographic blocks by routing connections through another nation—surged after 25 July. Usage reached a high at over 1.4 million in mid-August, up from approximately 650,000 people before the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has afterwards decreased, with current figures standing at around 900,000. It clarified that the level of daily VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for adult services. Young People Responding to Damaging Online Content In other findings, the watchdog's report revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering harmful content on the internet. Actions included reporting the content to the site to muting the person who shared it. This research was conducted prior to new regulations came into force that compel platforms to stop children from accessing harmful content, such as 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 algorithms were showing inappropriate material. Government Announce Examination of Adult Content Legislation Separately, the government announced it would examine the criminal law governing pornography to consider whether it is effective in the modern digital age. “The review will investigate the efficacy of the existing law in relation to criminalising, among other things, harmful depictions of familial abuse and any forms of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” said a justice minister. Campaigners Push For Tighter Online Regulations Campaigners for tighter regulation of online pornography have urged the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote child sexual abuse by using youthful adults portraying children. Proposed changes to government bills aim to: Ban pornography where adults are impersonating children, sometimes filmed in settings like children’s bedrooms. Extend the crime of making an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an older performer plays the role of a child. Apply tighter controls on familial abuse pornography, which studies suggests is often promoted by site algorithms. Add further controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to possess software designed to create non-consensual nude images. Establish a new, separate oversight agency to perform inspections on pornography sites and act on complaints of unlawful content. The advocates contend that these measures would ensure the protections that have existed for decades in the physical world finally are extended to the online sphere.
Traffic to pornography platforms in the UK has fallen significantly since the enforcement of age-checking measures this summer, as reported by the country's communications regulator. At the same time, the usage of tools designed to bypass these restrictions has increased. Immediate Fall in Visitor Numbers After Law Enforcement The introduction of age verification on 25 July caused an swift decline in visits to popular online adult platforms, including the top provider in the UK. Data reveals that visitor numbers to this platform 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 before the late July deadline. Subsequent analysis shows this downward trend in viewing continued past August. Surge in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Evade Checks In response to the new rules, use of VPN software—which can get around geographic blocks by routing connections through another nation—surged after 25 July. Usage reached a high at over 1.4 million in mid-August, up from approximately 650,000 people before the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has afterwards decreased, with current figures standing at around 900,000. It clarified that the level of daily VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for adult services. Young People Responding to Damaging Online Content In other findings, the watchdog's report revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering harmful content on the internet. Actions included reporting the content to the site to muting the person who shared it. This research was conducted prior to new regulations came into force that compel platforms to stop children from accessing harmful content, such as 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 algorithms were showing inappropriate material. Government Announce Examination of Adult Content Legislation Separately, the government announced it would examine the criminal law governing pornography to consider whether it is effective in the modern digital age. “The review will investigate the efficacy of the existing law in relation to criminalising, among other things, harmful depictions of familial abuse and any forms of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” said a justice minister. Campaigners Push For Tighter Online Regulations Campaigners for tighter regulation of online pornography have urged the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote child sexual abuse by using youthful adults portraying children. Proposed changes to government bills aim to: Ban pornography where adults are impersonating children, sometimes filmed in settings like children’s bedrooms. Extend the crime of making an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an older performer plays the role of a child. Apply tighter controls on familial abuse pornography, which studies suggests is often promoted by site algorithms. Add further controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to possess software designed to create non-consensual nude images. Establish a new, separate oversight agency to perform inspections on pornography sites and act on complaints of unlawful content. The advocates contend that these measures would ensure the protections that have existed for decades in the physical world finally are extended to the online sphere.