British Pornography Traffic Declines After Age Verifications, Yet Virtual Private Network Usage Surges, Reports Regulator

Access 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 regulator. Concurrently, the adoption of specialist software designed to bypass these restrictions has increased.

Immediate Fall in User Numbers Following Law Implementation

The enforcement of age verification on 25 July resulted in an prompt fall in traffic to leading pornography sites, such as the most visited provider in the UK. Figures shows that visitor numbers to this platform in August reached 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.

Overall, traffic to the ten most-visited adult services in the UK have now settled at a “lower level” than prior to the end-of-July implementation date. Subsequent analysis indicates this decline in viewing persisted past August.

Sharp Increase in VPN Usage to Bypass Checks

In response to the new rules, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can get around geographic restrictions by routing internet traffic via another nation—surged following 25 July.

User numbers reached a high at over 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from around 650,000 users before the checks were introduced. However, the regulator noted that VPN usage has afterwards steadily declined, with latest numbers standing at around 900,000. It clarified that the volume of regular VPN use is “much lower” than user numbers 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 acted after encountering harmful content online. Actions included flagging the content to the site to muting the person who posted it.

This research was conducted prior to new rules took effect that compel social media companies to prevent children from accessing harmful content, including material related to suicide and adult material. The most common way teenagers encountered such content was by looking through a platform feed, suggesting that algorithms were showing inappropriate material.

Ministers Launch Review of Adult Content Legislation

Separately, the ministers stated it would examine the legislation governing pornography to consider whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern online world.

“The examination will look into the efficacy of the current law in regarding criminalising, for example, harmful depictions of incest and any forms of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” stated a government official.

Advocates Call For Tighter Digital Controls

Advocates for better regulation of online pornography have called on the authorities to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote child sexual abuse by casting youthful performers dressed as children.

Suggested amendments to legislation seek to:

• Prohibit pornography where performers are mimicking children, sometimes recorded in environments like children’s bedrooms.
• Broaden the offence of making an indecent image of a child to cover material where an older performer plays the role of a child.
• Introduce stricter controls on familial abuse pornography, which studies indicates is often promoted by platform systems.
• Add additional restrictions on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to possess tools designed to create non-consensual nude images.
• Establish a new, separate regulatory body to conduct inspections on pornography sites and act on reports of unlawful content.

The advocates contend that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for years in the physical world finally apply to the digital age.