🔗 Share this article British Adult Content Traffic Declines After Identity Checks, But Virtual Private Network Usage Surges, States Regulator Visitor numbers to adult content platforms in the United Kingdom has decreased markedly after the enforcement of age-checking measures this summer, according to the nation's communications regulator. Simultaneously, the use of specialist software designed to bypass these blocks has surged. Immediate Fall in User Figures After Rule Implementation The enforcement of age verification on 25 July led to an swift decline in traffic to major online adult platforms, such as the leading site in the UK. Data indicates that user traffic to this platform in August stood at 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024. Overall, visitor numbers to the 10 most-visited adult services in the UK have now settled at a “lower level” than prior to the end-of-July deadline. Subsequent analysis indicates this decline in viewing continued beyond August. Surge in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Bypass Checks In response to the new regulations, use of VPN software—which can bypass location-based restrictions by routing internet traffic via another nation—surged after 25 July. Usage reached a high at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from around 650,000 users prior to the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the regulator stated that VPN usage has afterwards decreased, with current numbers standing at around 900,000. It clarified that the level of regular VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for adult services. Teenagers Responding to Harmful Online Content In other findings, the regulator's report revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering harmful content online. Steps taken ranged from reporting the content to the site to muting the user who posted it. This survey was carried out before new rules came into force that require social media companies to prevent children from seeing harmful content, such as material related to self-harm and pornography. The primary way teenagers came across such content was by scrolling through a platform feed, indicating that recommendation systems were showing harmful material. Ministers Announce Examination of Pornography Laws Separately, the ministers announced it would review the criminal law governing pornography to consider whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern online world. “The review will investigate the efficacy of the current law in relation to making illegal, among other things, damaging depictions of familial abuse and any forms of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” said a justice minister. Advocates Push For Stricter Online Controls Campaigners for better regulation of adult content have called on the government to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote abuse by casting young-looking adults dressed as children. Suggested changes to government bills seek to: Prohibit pornography where performers are mimicking children, often filmed in settings like children’s bedrooms. Extend the crime of making an indecent image of a child to include material where an adult plays the role of a child. Introduce stricter controls on familial abuse pornography, which studies suggests is often promoted by site algorithms. Add further controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to possess tools designed to create private images without permission. Establish a new, separate regulatory body to perform spot checks on adult platforms and respond to complaints of unlawful content. The campaigners contend that these measures would ensure the protections that have been enforced for decades in the physical world finally are extended to the digital age.
Visitor numbers to adult content platforms in the United Kingdom has decreased markedly after the enforcement of age-checking measures this summer, according to the nation's communications regulator. Simultaneously, the use of specialist software designed to bypass these blocks has surged. Immediate Fall in User Figures After Rule Implementation The enforcement of age verification on 25 July led to an swift decline in traffic to major online adult platforms, such as the leading site in the UK. Data indicates that user traffic to this platform in August stood at 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024. Overall, visitor numbers to the 10 most-visited adult services in the UK have now settled at a “lower level” than prior to the end-of-July deadline. Subsequent analysis indicates this decline in viewing continued beyond August. Surge in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Bypass Checks In response to the new regulations, use of VPN software—which can bypass location-based restrictions by routing internet traffic via another nation—surged after 25 July. Usage reached a high at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from around 650,000 users prior to the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the regulator stated that VPN usage has afterwards decreased, with current numbers standing at around 900,000. It clarified that the level of regular VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for adult services. Teenagers Responding to Harmful Online Content In other findings, the regulator's report revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering harmful content online. Steps taken ranged from reporting the content to the site to muting the user who posted it. This survey was carried out before new rules came into force that require social media companies to prevent children from seeing harmful content, such as material related to self-harm and pornography. The primary way teenagers came across such content was by scrolling through a platform feed, indicating that recommendation systems were showing harmful material. Ministers Announce Examination of Pornography Laws Separately, the ministers announced it would review the criminal law governing pornography to consider whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern online world. “The review will investigate the efficacy of the current law in relation to making illegal, among other things, damaging depictions of familial abuse and any forms of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” said a justice minister. Advocates Push For Stricter Online Controls Campaigners for better regulation of adult content have called on the government to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote abuse by casting young-looking adults dressed as children. Suggested changes to government bills seek to: Prohibit pornography where performers are mimicking children, often filmed in settings like children’s bedrooms. Extend the crime of making an indecent image of a child to include material where an adult plays the role of a child. Introduce stricter controls on familial abuse pornography, which studies suggests is often promoted by site algorithms. Add further controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to possess tools designed to create private images without permission. Establish a new, separate regulatory body to perform spot checks on adult platforms and respond to complaints of unlawful content. The campaigners contend that these measures would ensure the protections that have been enforced for decades in the physical world finally are extended to the digital age.