British Adult Content Traffic Declines After Age Checks, But Virtual Private Network Usage Spikes, Reports Watchdog
Traffic to adult content platforms in the UK has seen a notable drop after the roll-out of age-checking measures this summer, according to the nation's communications regulator. Concurrently, the usage of tools designed to bypass these barriers has increased.
Sharp Fall in User Figures Following Rule Enforcement
The introduction of age verification on 25 July caused an immediate reduction in visits to popular pornography sites, such as the top provider in the UK. Data shows that visitor numbers to this platform in August were 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.
In total, traffic to the ten most-visited adult services in the UK have now stabilized at a markedly decreased volume than before the late July implementation date. Subsequent analysis suggests this slump in viewing persisted past August.
Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Bypass Checks
In response to the new regulations, use of VPN software—which can circumvent geographic blocks by routing internet traffic through another nation—increased dramatically after 25 July.
Usage peaked at more than 1.4 million in mid-August, up from approximately 650,000 people prior to the checks began. However, the regulator stated that VPN usage has since steadily declined, with latest numbers standing at approximately 900,000. It added that the level of daily VPN use is “much lower” than user numbers for adult services.
Young People Taking Action to Damaging Online Content
In other findings, the watchdog's annual study revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing harmful content online. Steps taken ranged from flagging the material to the site to muting the person who posted it.
This survey was carried out before new regulations came into force that compel platforms to stop children from accessing dangerous content, including material related to suicide and pornography. The most common way teenagers encountered such content was by scrolling through a social media timeline, indicating that recommendation systems were showing inappropriate material.
Ministers Announce Review of Pornography Legislation
In a related development, the ministers stated it would examine the criminal law governing pornography to consider whether it is effective in the modern online world.
“The review will investigate the efficacy of the current law in relation to making illegal, among other things, damaging depictions of familial abuse and any types of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” said a government official.
Campaigners Push For Stricter Online Regulations
Campaigners for better control of online pornography have called on the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote child sexual abuse by casting youthful adults dressed as children.
Proposed changes to legislation seek 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 older performer acts the part of a child.
- Introduce tighter controls on incest-themed pornography, which research indicates is often promoted by platform algorithms.
- Add further controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to own software designed to generate non-consensual nude images.
- Create a new, independent regulatory body to perform inspections on adult platforms and act on reports of illegal content.
The advocates argue that these measures would ensure the protections that have been enforced for decades offline finally apply to the digital age.
