British Pornography Traffic Declines After Identity Verifications, But Virtual Private Network Use Spikes, States Watchdog

Traffic to pornography sites in the United Kingdom has fallen significantly since the enforcement of mandatory age verification this summer, according to the country's communications authority. At the same time, the adoption of tools designed to bypass these barriers has surged.

Sharp Fall in Visitor Numbers After Law Enforcement

The introduction of age vetting on 25 July resulted in an immediate decline in traffic to leading pornography sites, including the top provider in the UK. Data reveals that visitor numbers 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 most-visited adult services in the UK have now stabilized at a markedly decreased volume than before the end-of-July implementation date. Subsequent analysis suggests this decline in site visits persisted beyond August.

Surge in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Bypass Restrictions

In response to the new rules, adoption of VPN software—which can circumvent geographic restrictions by routing connections via another nation—more than doubled after 25 July.

Usage reached a high at more than 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from approximately 650,000 people prior to the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the regulator noted that VPN usage has since decreased, with current figures standing at around 900,000. It added that the volume of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for pornography sites.

Young People Taking Action to Damaging Online Content

Elsewhere, the watchdog's report revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering distressing content on the internet. Actions ranged from flagging the material to the site to muting the user who shared it.

This research was conducted prior to new regulations came into force that compel social media companies to prevent children from seeing dangerous 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, indicating that recommendation systems were showing harmful material.

Government Announce Examination of Pornography Laws

In a related development, the government announced it would review the criminal law governing pornography to consider whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern digital age.

“The examination will look into the efficacy of the current law in regarding criminalising, for example, harmful portrayals of familial abuse and any types of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” said a government official.

Advocates Call For Tighter Digital Controls

Campaigners for better control of adult content have called on the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote child sexual abuse by using young-looking adults portraying children.

Proposed amendments to legislation aim to:

• Prohibit pornography where adults are mimicking children, sometimes filmed in settings like children’s bedrooms.
• Broaden the crime of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an older performer plays the role of a child.
• Introduce stricter regulation on familial abuse pornography, which studies indicates is often promoted by site algorithms.
• Add further restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to possess software designed to create non-consensual nude images.
• Create a new, independent regulatory body to conduct spot checks on pornography sites and respond to reports of illegal content.

The campaigners argue that these measures would ensure the protections that have existed for decades offline finally are extended to the online sphere.