British Adult Content Site Visits Declines After Age Verifications, But VPN Use Spikes, States Watchdog
Access to adult content sites in the UK has seen a notable drop since the enforcement of mandatory age verification earlier this year, as reported by the country's communications watchdog. Simultaneously, the adoption of tools designed to bypass these blocks has surged.
Immediate Drop in User Figures After Law Enforcement
The introduction of age verification on 25 July caused an prompt decline in traffic to leading online adult platforms, including the leading provider in the UK. Data reveals that user traffic to this platform in August reached 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million compared to the equivalent month in 2024.
In total, traffic to the 10 top adult services in the UK have now settled at a markedly decreased volume than prior to the late July deadline. Later analysis suggests this slump in viewing continued beyond August.
Surge in VPN Adoption to Evade Restrictions
In response to the new regulations, adoption of VPN software—which can get around geographic blocks by masking internet traffic through another nation—more than doubled following 25 July.
User numbers reached a high at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from approximately 650,000 users before the verification began. Subsequently, the regulator stated that VPN usage has since decreased, with current figures at around 900,000. It clarified that the volume of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for adult services.
Teenagers Responding to Harmful Material
In other findings, the regulator's report found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing harmful content online. Steps taken ranged from reporting the content to the site to blocking the person who shared it.
This research was conducted prior to new rules took effect that compel social media companies to stop children from accessing harmful content, such as material related to self-harm and pornography. The primary way teenagers encountered such content was by looking through a social media timeline, indicating that recommendation systems were serving harmful material.
Government Launch Examination of Pornography Legislation
In a related development, the government announced it would examine the criminal law governing pornography to consider whether it is effective in the modern online world.
“The review will look into the efficacy of the existing law in regarding making illegal, for example, damaging portrayals of incest and any forms of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” said a government official.
Campaigners Call For Stricter Online Controls
Campaigners for better control of online pornography have urged the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote abuse by casting young-looking adults dressed as children.
Proposed changes to legislation aim to:
- Ban pornography where adults are impersonating children, often recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the offence of making an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an adult plays the role of a child.
- Apply stricter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which research indicates is heavily recommended by platform algorithms.
- Add further controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to own software designed to generate private images without permission.
- Create a new, separate regulatory body to perform inspections on adult platforms and act on complaints of unlawful content.
The campaigners contend that these measures would ensure the protections that have been enforced for years in the physical world finally apply to the digital age.