British Adult Content Site Visits Declines Following Age Checks, Yet Virtual Private Network Use Spikes, States Regulator
Access to adult content sites in the United Kingdom has decreased markedly after the enforcement of age-checking measures earlier this year, as reported by the nation's communications authority. Concurrently, the adoption of tools designed to bypass these restrictions has increased.
Immediate Drop in Visitor Figures After Law Enforcement
The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July resulted in an swift reduction in traffic to popular online adult platforms, such as the top site in the UK. Data indicates that user traffic to this site in August stood at 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million compared to the same period in 2024.
In total, traffic to the ten top pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a markedly decreased volume than prior to the end-of-July deadline. Later data shows this slump in viewing persisted beyond August.
Surge in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Evade Restrictions
In response to the new regulations, adoption of VPN software—which can circumvent location-based blocks by masking internet traffic via another country—more than doubled following 25 July.
User numbers reached a high at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from approximately 650,000 users prior to the checks were introduced. Subsequently, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has since steadily declined, with current numbers at around 900,000. It clarified that the volume of regular VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for adult sites.
Young People Responding to Damaging Material
In other findings, the watchdog's report found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing damaging content on the internet. Actions ranged from reporting the content to the platform to blocking the person who shared it.
This survey was conducted before new regulations took effect that compel social media companies to stop children from accessing harmful content, such as material related to self-harm and pornography. The primary way teenagers encountered such content was by scrolling through a social media feed, suggesting that algorithms were serving inappropriate material.
Government Announce Review of Adult Content Legislation
In a related development, the ministers stated it would review the legislation governing pornography to consider whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern online world.
“The review will investigate the effectiveness of the existing law in regarding making illegal, for example, damaging portrayals of familial abuse and any types of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” stated a government official.
Campaigners Call For Tighter Online Regulations
Campaigners for better control of online pornography have urged the government to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages abuse by casting young-looking adults portraying children.
Suggested changes to legislation seek to:
- Prohibit pornography where adults are mimicking children, sometimes filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the crime of making an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an older performer acts the part of a child.
- Introduce tighter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which research indicates is heavily recommended by platform algorithms.
- Introduce additional controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to own software designed to create non-consensual nude images.
- Create a new, independent oversight agency to perform inspections on adult platforms and act on reports of illegal content.
The campaigners argue that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for years offline finally are extended to the online sphere.
