British Pornography Traffic Declines After Identity Verifications, But Virtual Private Network Use Surges, States Watchdog
Traffic to pornography platforms in the United Kingdom has seen a notable drop after the roll-out of mandatory age verification this summer, as reported by the nation's communications regulator. Simultaneously, the use of tools designed to circumvent these blocks has surged.
Immediate Fall in User Numbers Following Law Enforcement
The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July caused an swift decline in visits to popular pornography sites, such as the leading provider in the UK. Data reveals that user traffic to this platform in August stood at 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million compared to the equivalent month in 2024.
Overall, traffic to the 10 top pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a markedly decreased volume than prior to the end-of-July deadline. Subsequent analysis shows this decline in site visits persisted beyond August.
Surge in Virtual Private Network Usage to Bypass Checks
Reacting to the new regulations, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can circumvent location-based blocks by masking connections through another nation—increased dramatically following 25 July.
Usage reached a high at more than 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from around 650,000 people prior to the checks began. However, the regulator stated that VPN usage has since fallen back, with current numbers at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the volume of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for pornography sites.
Young People Taking Action to Damaging Material
Elsewhere, the watchdog's report revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering damaging content on the internet. Actions ranged from reporting the material to the platform to blocking the user who shared it.
This research was conducted before new regulations took effect that require social media companies to prevent children from seeing dangerous content, including material related to suicide and pornography. The primary way teenagers came across such content was by scrolling through a social media feed, indicating that algorithms were serving harmful material.
Ministers Announce Examination of Pornography Laws
In a related development, the government stated it would review the criminal law governing pornography to assess whether it is adequate in the modern digital age.
“The review will investigate the efficacy of the existing law in relation to making illegal, for example, damaging portrayals of incest and any forms of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” said a justice minister.
Advocates Call For Tighter Digital Controls
Advocates for tighter regulation of online pornography have called on the authorities to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that encourages abuse by casting young-looking adults portraying children.
Proposed changes to legislation seek to:
- Ban pornography where performers 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 older performer acts the part of a child.
- Introduce tighter controls on incest-themed pornography, which studies suggests is often promoted by site algorithms.
- Introduce additional restrictions on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to own software designed to create private images without permission.
- Establish a new, separate oversight agency to perform inspections on pornography sites and respond to reports of unlawful content.
The campaigners contend that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have existed for decades in the physical world finally are extended to the online sphere.
