British Adult Content Site Visits Declines Following Identity Verifications, But VPN Use Surges, States Watchdog
Access to adult content websites in the UK has fallen significantly after the roll-out of age-checking measures earlier this year, according to the nation's communications watchdog. Simultaneously, the usage of tools designed to dodge these blocks has surged.
Immediate Fall in Visitor Numbers Following Rule Enforcement
The introduction of age verification on 25 July led to an prompt fall in traffic to major pornography sites, including the top site in the UK. Data indicates that visitor numbers to this site in August were 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million compared to the same period in 2024.
In total, traffic to the 10 top adult services in the UK have now settled at a markedly decreased volume than before the late July deadline. Later analysis shows this slump in viewing persisted past August.
Surge in VPN Usage to Evade Checks
In response to the new rules, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can get around geographic blocks by masking connections through another nation—more than doubled following 25 July.
Usage peaked at more than 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from around 650,000 people before the checks were introduced. However, the regulator stated that VPN usage has afterwards decreased, with latest numbers standing at around 900,000. It added that the volume of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for adult sites.
Young People Taking Action to Damaging Material
Elsewhere, the watchdog's annual study found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing distressing content online. Steps taken included reporting the content to the platform to blocking the user who posted it.
This survey was carried out prior to new regulations came into force that require platforms to prevent children from accessing harmful content, such as material related to suicide and pornography. The primary way teenagers came across such content was by looking through a social media timeline, suggesting that algorithms were showing inappropriate material.
Ministers Launch Examination of Adult Content Laws
Separately, the government stated it would review the criminal law governing pornography to assess whether it is “fit for purpose” in the ever-developing digital age.
“The review will look into the effectiveness of the existing law in regarding making illegal, among other things, damaging portrayals of incest and any forms of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” said a government official.
Campaigners Push For Tighter Digital Controls
Advocates for better regulation of adult content have called on the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote child sexual abuse by using youthful adults dressed as children.
Proposed amendments to legislation aim to:
- Prohibit pornography where performers are mimicking children, sometimes filmed in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the crime of making an indecent image of a child to include material where an adult acts the part of a child.
- Apply stricter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which research suggests is often promoted by platform algorithms.
- Add further controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to possess software designed to create non-consensual nude images.
- Create a new, separate regulatory body to perform inspections on adult platforms and act on complaints of unlawful content.
The advocates contend that these steps would ensure the protections that have been enforced for years in the physical world finally are extended to the digital age.
