UK Pornography Traffic Declines Following Age Checks, But Virtual Private Network Usage Surges, Reports Regulator

Traffic to pornography sites in the United Kingdom has decreased markedly after the enforcement of mandatory age verification this summer, according to the country's communications watchdog. At the same time, the use of specialist software designed to circumvent these blocks has risen.

Sharp Drop in Visitor Figures Following Rule Enforcement

The enforcement of age verification on 25 July resulted in an swift fall in visits to leading pornography sites, such as the top site in the UK. Data indicates that visitor numbers to this platform in August reached 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million compared to the equivalent month in 2024.

In total, visitor numbers to the ten most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a “lower level” than before the end-of-July implementation date. Subsequent analysis suggests this downward trend in site visits persisted beyond August.

Surge in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Bypass Restrictions

Reacting to the new rules, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can bypass location-based blocks by routing internet traffic through another nation—surged following 25 July.

Usage peaked at more than 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from approximately 650,000 users prior to the checks began. Subsequently, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has afterwards steadily declined, with latest numbers at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the volume of daily VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for adult services.

Young People Taking Action to Damaging Material

In other findings, the regulator's report revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing harmful content on the internet. Steps taken ranged from reporting the material to the platform to muting the user who shared it.

This research was carried out before new rules came into force that compel platforms to prevent children from seeing harmful content, including material related to suicide and adult material. The primary way young people came across such content was by scrolling through a platform timeline, suggesting that recommendation systems were showing inappropriate material.

Ministers Launch Review of Pornography Laws

Separately, the ministers announced it would examine the criminal law governing pornography to assess whether it is adequate in the ever-developing digital age.

“The review will investigate the effectiveness of the current law in relation to making illegal, for example, harmful depictions of familial abuse and any types of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” stated a justice minister.

Campaigners Push For Tighter Online Controls

Campaigners for better control of online pornography have urged the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote abuse by casting young-looking performers portraying children.

Proposed amendments to legislation aim to:

• Ban pornography where adults are mimicking children, sometimes recorded in environments like children’s bedrooms.
• Broaden the offence of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an adult plays the role of a child.
• Introduce tighter regulation on familial abuse pornography, which research indicates is often promoted by platform systems.
• Add additional controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to own software designed to generate private images without permission.
• Create a new, independent regulatory body to perform inspections on adult platforms and respond to complaints of unlawful content.

The advocates contend that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for decades in the physical world finally are extended to the online sphere.