🔗 Share this article British Adult Content Site Visits Declines After Identity Checks, But Virtual Private Network Usage Spikes, States Regulator Traffic to pornography sites in the United Kingdom has seen a notable drop since the introduction of age-checking measures earlier this year, as reported by the country's communications watchdog. At the same time, the use of specialist software designed to bypass these restrictions has risen. Immediate Drop in User Figures Following Law Enforcement The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July led to an swift decline in visits to major online adult platforms, such as the leading provider in the UK. Data indicates that user traffic to this site in August were 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024. Overall, visitor numbers to the ten most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a markedly decreased volume than before the late July deadline. Subsequent data suggests this downward trend in site visits persisted past August. Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Usage to Bypass Checks In response to the new regulations, adoption of VPN software—which can bypass geographic blocks by masking internet traffic via another country—more than doubled following 25 July. User numbers peaked at over 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from approximately 650,000 users prior to the checks were introduced. However, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has since decreased, with latest numbers at around 900,000. It clarified that the volume of daily VPN use is “much lower” than user numbers for pornography services. Young People Taking Action to Damaging Material Elsewhere, the regulator's annual study found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing harmful content online. Actions included flagging the content to the platform to blocking the user who posted it. This survey was carried out before new regulations came into force that compel social media companies to prevent children from accessing dangerous content, including material related to suicide and adult material. The most common way teenagers encountered such content was by scrolling through a social media timeline, indicating that algorithms were serving inappropriate material. Ministers Announce Review of Adult Content Laws In a related development, the ministers stated it would review the criminal law relating to pornography to assess whether it is effective in the ever-developing digital age. “The review will look into the efficacy of the current law in relation to criminalising, for example, damaging depictions of incest and any types of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” said a justice minister. Advocates Push For Tighter Digital Regulations Campaigners for better regulation of adult content have urged the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring incest scenes or that encourages abuse by using youthful adults portraying children. Proposed amendments to legislation aim to: Prohibit pornography where adults are impersonating children, often filmed in settings like children’s bedrooms. Broaden the offence of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an adult plays the role of a child. Introduce tighter controls on incest-themed pornography, which studies indicates is heavily recommended by site systems. Introduce further controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to possess software designed to create private images without permission. Create a new, independent regulatory body to perform inspections on pornography sites and respond to complaints of unlawful content. The advocates argue that these measures would ensure the protections that have been enforced for years in the physical world finally are extended to the digital age.
Traffic to pornography sites in the United Kingdom has seen a notable drop since the introduction of age-checking measures earlier this year, as reported by the country's communications watchdog. At the same time, the use of specialist software designed to bypass these restrictions has risen. Immediate Drop in User Figures Following Law Enforcement The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July led to an swift decline in visits to major online adult platforms, such as the leading provider in the UK. Data indicates that user traffic to this site in August were 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024. Overall, visitor numbers to the ten most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a markedly decreased volume than before the late July deadline. Subsequent data suggests this downward trend in site visits persisted past August. Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Usage to Bypass Checks In response to the new regulations, adoption of VPN software—which can bypass geographic blocks by masking internet traffic via another country—more than doubled following 25 July. User numbers peaked at over 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from approximately 650,000 users prior to the checks were introduced. However, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has since decreased, with latest numbers at around 900,000. It clarified that the volume of daily VPN use is “much lower” than user numbers for pornography services. Young People Taking Action to Damaging Material Elsewhere, the regulator's annual study found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing harmful content online. Actions included flagging the content to the platform to blocking the user who posted it. This survey was carried out before new regulations came into force that compel social media companies to prevent children from accessing dangerous content, including material related to suicide and adult material. The most common way teenagers encountered such content was by scrolling through a social media timeline, indicating that algorithms were serving inappropriate material. Ministers Announce Review of Adult Content Laws In a related development, the ministers stated it would review the criminal law relating to pornography to assess whether it is effective in the ever-developing digital age. “The review will look into the efficacy of the current law in relation to criminalising, for example, damaging depictions of incest and any types of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” said a justice minister. Advocates Push For Tighter Digital Regulations Campaigners for better regulation of adult content have urged the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring incest scenes or that encourages abuse by using youthful adults portraying children. Proposed amendments to legislation aim to: Prohibit pornography where adults are impersonating children, often filmed in settings like children’s bedrooms. Broaden the offence of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an adult plays the role of a child. Introduce tighter controls on incest-themed pornography, which studies indicates is heavily recommended by site systems. Introduce further controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to possess software designed to create private images without permission. Create a new, independent regulatory body to perform inspections on pornography sites and respond to complaints of unlawful content. The advocates argue that these measures would ensure the protections that have been enforced for years in the physical world finally are extended to the digital age.