đ Share this article UK Adult Content Traffic Falls After Age Checks, But Virtual Private Network Usage Surges, States Regulator Visitor numbers to adult content sites in the United Kingdom has seen a notable drop since the roll-out of mandatory age verification earlier this year, according to the nation's communications watchdog. Simultaneously, the usage of specialist software designed to circumvent these barriers has risen. Immediate Fall in User Figures After Law Enforcement The enforcement of age verification on 25 July resulted in an swift reduction in traffic to popular pornography sites, including the leading site in the UK. Data reveals that user traffic to this platform in August were 9.8 million, a decrease 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 stabilized at a significantly reduced level than before the late July implementation date. Later data suggests this decline in site visits persisted past August. Sharp Increase in VPN Usage to Bypass Checks Reacting to the new regulations, adoption of VPN softwareâwhich can bypass geographic restrictions by masking internet traffic through another nationâsurged following 25 July. Usage peaked at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from around 650,000 people prior to the checks began. Subsequently, the regulator noted that VPN usage has since steadily declined, with current numbers standing at approximately 900,000. It added that the volume of regular VPN use is âmuch lowerâ than user numbers for adult services. Young People Taking Action to Damaging Online Content Elsewhere, the regulator's report found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing damaging content online. Steps taken ranged from reporting the content to the platform to blocking the user who shared it. This research was carried out prior to new regulations came into force that require social media companies to stop children from seeing dangerous content, such as material related to self-harm and pornography. The most common way teenagers came across such content was by looking through a platform feed, suggesting that recommendation systems were showing harmful material. Ministers Launch Review of Adult Content Legislation In a related development, the ministers announced it would review the criminal law governing pornography to assess whether it is âfit for purposeâ in the modern digital age. âThe examination will look into the effectiveness of the existing law in regarding criminalising, for example, damaging depictions of incest and any forms of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,â said a justice minister. Campaigners Push For Tighter Digital Controls Advocates for tighter control of adult content have urged the government to outlaw so-called âbarely legalâ material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that encourages child sexual abuse by casting young-looking adults dressed as children. Proposed amendments to government bills aim to: Prohibit pornography where adults are impersonating children, often filmed in environments like childrenâs bedrooms. Extend the crime of creating an indecent image of a child to cover material where an older performer acts the part of a child. Apply tighter controls on incest-themed pornography, which studies indicates is heavily recommended by site systems. Introduce further restrictions on ânudificationâ software, potentially making it an illegal act to own tools designed to generate non-consensual nude images. Establish a new, independent oversight agency to conduct spot checks on adult platforms and act on reports of illegal content. The advocates argue that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for decades offline finally apply to the online sphere.
Visitor numbers to adult content sites in the United Kingdom has seen a notable drop since the roll-out of mandatory age verification earlier this year, according to the nation's communications watchdog. Simultaneously, the usage of specialist software designed to circumvent these barriers has risen. Immediate Fall in User Figures After Law Enforcement The enforcement of age verification on 25 July resulted in an swift reduction in traffic to popular pornography sites, including the leading site in the UK. Data reveals that user traffic to this platform in August were 9.8 million, a decrease 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 stabilized at a significantly reduced level than before the late July implementation date. Later data suggests this decline in site visits persisted past August. Sharp Increase in VPN Usage to Bypass Checks Reacting to the new regulations, adoption of VPN softwareâwhich can bypass geographic restrictions by masking internet traffic through another nationâsurged following 25 July. Usage peaked at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from around 650,000 people prior to the checks began. Subsequently, the regulator noted that VPN usage has since steadily declined, with current numbers standing at approximately 900,000. It added that the volume of regular VPN use is âmuch lowerâ than user numbers for adult services. Young People Taking Action to Damaging Online Content Elsewhere, the regulator's report found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing damaging content online. Steps taken ranged from reporting the content to the platform to blocking the user who shared it. This research was carried out prior to new regulations came into force that require social media companies to stop children from seeing dangerous content, such as material related to self-harm and pornography. The most common way teenagers came across such content was by looking through a platform feed, suggesting that recommendation systems were showing harmful material. Ministers Launch Review of Adult Content Legislation In a related development, the ministers announced it would review the criminal law governing pornography to assess whether it is âfit for purposeâ in the modern digital age. âThe examination will look into the effectiveness of the existing law in regarding criminalising, for example, damaging depictions of incest and any forms of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,â said a justice minister. Campaigners Push For Tighter Digital Controls Advocates for tighter control of adult content have urged the government to outlaw so-called âbarely legalâ material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that encourages child sexual abuse by casting young-looking adults dressed as children. Proposed amendments to government bills aim to: Prohibit pornography where adults are impersonating children, often filmed in environments like childrenâs bedrooms. Extend the crime of creating an indecent image of a child to cover material where an older performer acts the part of a child. Apply tighter controls on incest-themed pornography, which studies indicates is heavily recommended by site systems. Introduce further restrictions on ânudificationâ software, potentially making it an illegal act to own tools designed to generate non-consensual nude images. Establish a new, independent oversight agency to conduct spot checks on adult platforms and act on reports of illegal content. The advocates argue that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for decades offline finally apply to the online sphere.