UK Pornography Site Visits Falls After Identity Verifications, Yet Virtual Private Network Usage Spikes, States Regulator
Traffic to pornography websites in the UK has fallen significantly after the roll-out of mandatory age verification this summer, according to the country's communications authority. Simultaneously, the usage of tools designed to bypass these blocks has risen.
Immediate Fall in User Numbers After Rule Implementation
The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July caused an immediate reduction in traffic to major online adult platforms, including the most visited provider in the UK. Figures shows that user traffic to this platform in August stood at 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024.
In total, visitor numbers to the ten top adult services in the UK have now settled at a markedly decreased volume than prior to the end-of-July implementation date. Later analysis suggests this decline in viewing continued beyond August.
Surge in VPN Adoption to Evade Checks
In response to the new regulations, use of VPN software—which can circumvent geographic blocks by routing internet traffic via another nation—increased dramatically following 25 July.
Usage reached a high at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from approximately 650,000 users prior to the checks began. Subsequently, the regulator noted that VPN usage has afterwards fallen back, with latest figures standing at approximately 900,000. It added that the volume of regular VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for adult services.
Young People Taking Action to Harmful Online Content
Elsewhere, the watchdog's report found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing damaging content on the internet. Steps taken included flagging the material to the platform to muting the user who shared it.
This research was carried out before new regulations came into force that require platforms to prevent children from accessing harmful content, such as material related to suicide and pornography. The primary way young people came across such content was by scrolling through a platform timeline, suggesting that algorithms were serving harmful material.
Government Announce Examination of Pornography Laws
In a related development, the ministers stated it would examine the criminal law governing pornography to assess whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern digital age.
“The examination will investigate the effectiveness of the existing law in relation to making illegal, among other things, damaging depictions of familial abuse and any types of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” said a justice minister.
Advocates Call For Stricter Online Regulations
Advocates for better regulation of online pornography have called on the government to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages abuse by using youthful performers dressed as children.
Proposed amendments to government bills aim to:
- Ban pornography where performers are impersonating children, often recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the crime of making an indecent image of a child to include material where an older performer acts the part of a child.
- Apply tighter controls on familial abuse pornography, which research indicates is often promoted by platform systems.
- Introduce further controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to possess software designed to generate private images without permission.
- Establish a new, independent oversight agency to conduct spot checks on adult platforms and act on reports of unlawful content.
The advocates contend that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have existed for decades offline finally are extended to the online sphere.
