UK Adult Content Site Visits Declines After Age Checks, Yet VPN Use Spikes, Reports Regulator
Access to adult content websites in the United Kingdom has fallen significantly since the introduction of age-checking measures earlier this year, as reported by the nation's communications regulator. Simultaneously, the usage of tools designed to dodge these blocks has risen.
Immediate Drop in Visitor Figures After Rule Implementation
The introduction of age verification on 25 July led to an immediate decline in traffic to major pornography sites, such as the top site in the UK. Figures reveals that user traffic to this platform in August reached 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024.
Overall, traffic to the 10 top pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a significantly reduced level than before the end-of-July deadline. Subsequent analysis suggests this downward trend in site visits persisted beyond August.
Surge in VPN Adoption to Evade Checks
Reacting to the new rules, use of VPN software—which can bypass location-based restrictions by masking connections through another country—surged following 25 July.
User numbers reached a high at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from around 650,000 people prior to the checks were introduced. However, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has afterwards steadily declined, with latest figures at around 900,000. It added that the volume of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for pornography sites.
Teenagers Taking Action to Harmful Online Content
In other findings, the regulator's report revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing harmful content online. Actions ranged from reporting the content to the platform to muting the user who posted it.
This research was carried out prior to new rules came into force that require platforms to prevent children from accessing harmful content, such as material related to suicide and adult material. The primary way young people came across such content was by looking through a platform timeline, indicating that recommendation systems were showing harmful material.
Government Announce Examination of Adult Content Legislation
Separately, the government announced it would examine the legislation relating to pornography to consider whether it is adequate in the ever-developing digital age.
“The review will look into the efficacy of the current law in regarding making illegal, among other things, damaging portrayals of incest and any types of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” stated a justice minister.
Campaigners Push For Stricter Online Controls
Campaigners for tighter control of online pornography have called on the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote abuse by casting youthful adults portraying children.
Proposed changes to legislation aim to:
- Ban pornography where adults are mimicking children, often filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the offence of making an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an older performer plays the role of a child.
- Introduce stricter controls on incest-themed pornography, which research indicates is heavily recommended by platform systems.
- Introduce additional controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to own tools designed to create private images without permission.
- Create a new, separate regulatory body to conduct spot checks on adult platforms and act on reports of unlawful content.
The campaigners contend that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for decades offline finally are extended to the digital age.
