🔗 Share this article UK Adult Content Site Visits Declines After Identity Checks, Yet Virtual Private Network Use Surges, States Regulator Access to adult content sites in the United Kingdom has fallen significantly after the introduction of mandatory age verification this summer, according to the country's communications watchdog. Concurrently, the use of tools designed to bypass these blocks has surged. Immediate Fall in User Figures Following Rule Implementation The introduction of age vetting on 25 July caused an swift fall in visits to major pornography sites, such as the top provider in the UK. Data shows that user traffic to this site in August were 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million compared to the equivalent month in 2024. Overall, traffic to the 10 most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a “lower level” than before the end-of-July deadline. Subsequent analysis shows this slump in site visits continued past August. Sharp Increase in VPN Adoption to Evade Checks Reacting to the new rules, adoption of VPN software—which can get around geographic restrictions by routing connections via another nation—more than doubled after 25 July. Usage peaked at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from approximately 650,000 people before the checks began. Subsequently, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has afterwards fallen back, with current figures standing at approximately 900,000. It added that the level of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for pornography services. Teenagers Responding to Harmful Online Content In other findings, the watchdog's annual study found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing damaging content on the internet. Actions included flagging the content to the platform to blocking the user who shared it. This survey was conducted prior to new regulations came into force that require social media companies to stop children from seeing dangerous content, such as material related to suicide and adult material. The most common way teenagers came across such content was by looking through a social media feed, indicating that algorithms were serving inappropriate material. Ministers Announce Review of Adult Content Laws In a related development, the government stated it would examine the legislation governing pornography to consider whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern digital age. “The examination will investigate the efficacy of the current law in regarding making illegal, for example, damaging depictions of familial abuse and any types of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” said a justice minister. Campaigners Call For Stricter Digital Regulations Campaigners for better control of adult content have called on the government to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that encourages child sexual abuse by using young-looking performers portraying children. Proposed amendments to government bills seek to: Prohibit pornography where adults are mimicking children, sometimes filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms. Extend the offence of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an older performer acts the part of a child. Apply stricter regulation on familial abuse pornography, which studies suggests is often promoted by platform systems. Introduce further restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to possess software designed to create private images without permission. Establish a new, independent oversight agency to conduct spot checks on adult platforms and act on reports of illegal content. The campaigners argue that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have existed for decades offline finally apply to the online sphere.
Access to adult content sites in the United Kingdom has fallen significantly after the introduction of mandatory age verification this summer, according to the country's communications watchdog. Concurrently, the use of tools designed to bypass these blocks has surged. Immediate Fall in User Figures Following Rule Implementation The introduction of age vetting on 25 July caused an swift fall in visits to major pornography sites, such as the top provider in the UK. Data shows that user traffic to this site in August were 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million compared to the equivalent month in 2024. Overall, traffic to the 10 most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a “lower level” than before the end-of-July deadline. Subsequent analysis shows this slump in site visits continued past August. Sharp Increase in VPN Adoption to Evade Checks Reacting to the new rules, adoption of VPN software—which can get around geographic restrictions by routing connections via another nation—more than doubled after 25 July. Usage peaked at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from approximately 650,000 people before the checks began. Subsequently, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has afterwards fallen back, with current figures standing at approximately 900,000. It added that the level of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for pornography services. Teenagers Responding to Harmful Online Content In other findings, the watchdog's annual study found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing damaging content on the internet. Actions included flagging the content to the platform to blocking the user who shared it. This survey was conducted prior to new regulations came into force that require social media companies to stop children from seeing dangerous content, such as material related to suicide and adult material. The most common way teenagers came across such content was by looking through a social media feed, indicating that algorithms were serving inappropriate material. Ministers Announce Review of Adult Content Laws In a related development, the government stated it would examine the legislation governing pornography to consider whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern digital age. “The examination will investigate the efficacy of the current law in regarding making illegal, for example, damaging depictions of familial abuse and any types of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” said a justice minister. Campaigners Call For Stricter Digital Regulations Campaigners for better control of adult content have called on the government to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that encourages child sexual abuse by using young-looking performers portraying children. Proposed amendments to government bills seek to: Prohibit pornography where adults are mimicking children, sometimes filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms. Extend the offence of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an older performer acts the part of a child. Apply stricter regulation on familial abuse pornography, which studies suggests is often promoted by platform systems. Introduce further restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to possess software designed to create private images without permission. Establish a new, independent oversight agency to conduct spot checks on adult platforms and act on reports of illegal content. The campaigners argue that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have existed for decades offline finally apply to the online sphere.