British Pornography Traffic Falls Following Age Verifications, But Virtual Private Network Usage Surges, Reports Regulator

Traffic to pornography platforms in the United Kingdom has seen a notable drop since the introduction of age-checking measures this summer, as reported by the nation's communications watchdog. Simultaneously, the adoption of tools designed to bypass these blocks has risen.

Immediate Fall in User Figures Following Rule Implementation

The introduction of age vetting on 25 July led to an immediate decline in traffic to leading online adult platforms, such as the leading provider in the UK. Figures shows that visitor numbers to this site in August reached 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million compared to the equivalent month in 2024.

In total, visitor numbers to the 10 most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a “lower level” than prior to the late July deadline. Subsequent data shows this decline in viewing continued beyond August.

Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Usage to Bypass Restrictions

In response to the new rules, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can get around location-based restrictions by masking connections through another country—increased dramatically following 25 July.

Usage peaked at more than 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from around 650,000 users before the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the regulator stated that VPN usage has afterwards decreased, with current figures standing at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the volume of daily VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for adult sites.

Teenagers Responding to Harmful Online Content

Elsewhere, the watchdog's annual study found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing harmful content online. Actions included reporting the material to the platform to blocking the user who shared it.

This research was conducted before new regulations took effect that compel platforms to prevent children from seeing dangerous content, including material related to self-harm and adult material. The most common way young people came across such content was by looking through a social media feed, indicating that recommendation systems were showing harmful material.

Government Launch Review of Pornography Laws

Separately, the ministers stated it would review the legislation relating to pornography to assess whether it is adequate in the ever-developing online world.

“The examination will investigate the efficacy of the existing law in regarding making illegal, among other things, damaging portrayals of incest and any forms of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” stated a government official.

Campaigners Call For Stricter Online Regulations

Campaigners for tighter regulation of adult content have called on the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages child sexual abuse by using youthful adults portraying children.

Proposed amendments to legislation seek to:

• Ban pornography where adults are impersonating children, often recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
• Extend the offence of making an indecent image of a child to cover material where an adult acts the part of a child.
• Introduce stricter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which research indicates is often promoted by site systems.
• Introduce additional restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to possess tools designed to create private images without permission.
• Establish a new, separate oversight agency to perform inspections on pornography sites and respond to complaints of illegal content.

The campaigners argue that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for years offline finally are extended to the online sphere.