🔗 Share this article British Adult Content Site Visits Falls After Identity Verifications, Yet VPN Use Spikes, States Watchdog Traffic to adult content sites in the United Kingdom has seen a notable drop after the enforcement of age-checking measures this summer, according to the country's communications watchdog. Concurrently, the usage of tools designed to circumvent these restrictions has surged. Immediate Fall in Visitor Numbers After Rule Enforcement The enforcement of age verification on 25 July led to an prompt fall in visits to popular pornography sites, including the most visited site in the UK. Data indicates that user traffic to this platform in August stood at 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million compared to the same period in 2024. In total, visitor numbers to the 10 top adult services in the UK have now settled at a “lower level” than prior to the end-of-July deadline. Later analysis shows this slump in site visits persisted past August. Surge in VPN Adoption to Evade Checks Reacting to the new regulations, use of VPN software—which can bypass location-based blocks by routing internet traffic through another country—increased dramatically following 25 July. Usage peaked at over 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from approximately 650,000 users before the verification began. However, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has afterwards decreased, with latest numbers standing at approximately 900,000. It added that the level of regular VPN use is “much lower” than user numbers for adult sites. Young People Taking Action to Damaging Online Content Elsewhere, the watchdog's report found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering harmful content online. Actions ranged from flagging the content to the site to muting the person who posted it. This research was conducted before new regulations took effect that require social media companies to prevent children from seeing dangerous content, including material related to self-harm and adult material. The primary way teenagers came across such content was by scrolling through a social media feed, suggesting that recommendation systems were serving harmful material. Government Launch Examination of Pornography Laws Separately, the government stated it would examine 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 current law in regarding making illegal, among other things, harmful portrayals of incest and any types of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” said a justice minister. Advocates Call For Tighter Digital Regulations Advocates for tighter regulation of online pornography have urged the government to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring incest scenes or that encourages child sexual abuse by using youthful adults dressed as children. Proposed changes to legislation aim to: Ban pornography where performers are mimicking children, often filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms. Extend the offence of making an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an adult acts the part of a child. Apply stricter controls on incest-themed pornography, which studies suggests is often promoted by site systems. Introduce further restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to possess software designed to create non-consensual nude images. Establish a new, separate regulatory body to conduct inspections on pornography sites and respond to reports of illegal content. The advocates argue that these measures would ensure the protections that have existed for years in the physical world finally apply to the digital age.
Traffic to adult content sites in the United Kingdom has seen a notable drop after the enforcement of age-checking measures this summer, according to the country's communications watchdog. Concurrently, the usage of tools designed to circumvent these restrictions has surged. Immediate Fall in Visitor Numbers After Rule Enforcement The enforcement of age verification on 25 July led to an prompt fall in visits to popular pornography sites, including the most visited site in the UK. Data indicates that user traffic to this platform in August stood at 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million compared to the same period in 2024. In total, visitor numbers to the 10 top adult services in the UK have now settled at a “lower level” than prior to the end-of-July deadline. Later analysis shows this slump in site visits persisted past August. Surge in VPN Adoption to Evade Checks Reacting to the new regulations, use of VPN software—which can bypass location-based blocks by routing internet traffic through another country—increased dramatically following 25 July. Usage peaked at over 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from approximately 650,000 users before the verification began. However, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has afterwards decreased, with latest numbers standing at approximately 900,000. It added that the level of regular VPN use is “much lower” than user numbers for adult sites. Young People Taking Action to Damaging Online Content Elsewhere, the watchdog's report found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering harmful content online. Actions ranged from flagging the content to the site to muting the person who posted it. This research was conducted before new regulations took effect that require social media companies to prevent children from seeing dangerous content, including material related to self-harm and adult material. The primary way teenagers came across such content was by scrolling through a social media feed, suggesting that recommendation systems were serving harmful material. Government Launch Examination of Pornography Laws Separately, the government stated it would examine 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 current law in regarding making illegal, among other things, harmful portrayals of incest and any types of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” said a justice minister. Advocates Call For Tighter Digital Regulations Advocates for tighter regulation of online pornography have urged the government to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring incest scenes or that encourages child sexual abuse by using youthful adults dressed as children. Proposed changes to legislation aim to: Ban pornography where performers are mimicking children, often filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms. Extend the offence of making an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an adult acts the part of a child. Apply stricter controls on incest-themed pornography, which studies suggests is often promoted by site systems. Introduce further restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to possess software designed to create non-consensual nude images. Establish a new, separate regulatory body to conduct inspections on pornography sites and respond to reports of illegal content. The advocates argue that these measures would ensure the protections that have existed for years in the physical world finally apply to the digital age.