đ Share this article British Pornography Traffic Falls Following Age Checks, Yet VPN Usage Surges, Reports Regulator Visitor numbers to pornography platforms in the United Kingdom has seen a notable drop since the roll-out of age-checking measures earlier this year, as reported by the country's communications watchdog. Concurrently, the adoption of specialist software designed to bypass these barriers has surged. Sharp Fall in Visitor Figures After Rule Implementation The introduction of age verification on 25 July resulted in an prompt fall in visits to major pornography sites, such as the leading site in the UK. Data shows that user traffic to this platform in August reached 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024. Overall, visitor numbers to the ten top pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a significantly reduced level than before the end-of-July deadline. Later data indicates this downward trend in site visits persisted past August. Surge in VPN Usage to Bypass Restrictions Reacting to the new regulations, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)âwhich can get around location-based blocks by routing internet traffic through another nationâincreased dramatically after 25 July. User numbers reached a high at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from approximately 650,000 people before the verification began. Subsequently, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has since decreased, with latest numbers at around 900,000. It added that the volume of daily VPN use remains âmuch lowerâ than user numbers for adult sites. Teenagers Taking Action to Harmful Material In other findings, the regulator's annual study revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering harmful content on the internet. Actions included reporting the content to the platform to muting the person who shared it. This research was conducted prior to new rules took effect that compel platforms to prevent children from accessing harmful content, such as material related to self-harm and pornography. The primary way teenagers came across such content was by looking through a social media timeline, suggesting that recommendation systems were serving harmful material. Government Launch Examination of Pornography Laws Separately, the ministers announced it would review the legislation governing pornography to consider whether it is âfit for purposeâ in the ever-developing online world. âThe examination will look into the effectiveness of the current law in relation to criminalising, for example, harmful depictions of incest and any types of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,â stated a justice minister. Advocates Call For Tighter Digital Controls Campaigners for tighter regulation of online pornography have called on the authorities to ban so-called âbarely legalâ material. This encompasses content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote abuse by casting youthful adults dressed as children. Proposed amendments to government bills aim to: Prohibit pornography where adults are impersonating children, often recorded in environments like childrenâs bedrooms. Broaden the crime of making an indecent image of a child to include material where an adult acts the part of a child. Apply stricter controls on incest-themed pornography, which research suggests is heavily recommended by site systems. Add additional restrictions on ânudificationâ software, potentially making it an illegal act to own tools designed to create non-consensual nude images. Create a new, separate regulatory body to perform spot checks on pornography sites and respond to reports of illegal content. The campaigners argue that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for decades in the physical world finally are extended to the digital age.
Visitor numbers to pornography platforms in the United Kingdom has seen a notable drop since the roll-out of age-checking measures earlier this year, as reported by the country's communications watchdog. Concurrently, the adoption of specialist software designed to bypass these barriers has surged. Sharp Fall in Visitor Figures After Rule Implementation The introduction of age verification on 25 July resulted in an prompt fall in visits to major pornography sites, such as the leading site in the UK. Data shows that user traffic to this platform in August reached 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024. Overall, visitor numbers to the ten top pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a significantly reduced level than before the end-of-July deadline. Later data indicates this downward trend in site visits persisted past August. Surge in VPN Usage to Bypass Restrictions Reacting to the new regulations, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)âwhich can get around location-based blocks by routing internet traffic through another nationâincreased dramatically after 25 July. User numbers reached a high at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from approximately 650,000 people before the verification began. Subsequently, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has since decreased, with latest numbers at around 900,000. It added that the volume of daily VPN use remains âmuch lowerâ than user numbers for adult sites. Teenagers Taking Action to Harmful Material In other findings, the regulator's annual study revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering harmful content on the internet. Actions included reporting the content to the platform to muting the person who shared it. This research was conducted prior to new rules took effect that compel platforms to prevent children from accessing harmful content, such as material related to self-harm and pornography. The primary way teenagers came across such content was by looking through a social media timeline, suggesting that recommendation systems were serving harmful material. Government Launch Examination of Pornography Laws Separately, the ministers announced it would review the legislation governing pornography to consider whether it is âfit for purposeâ in the ever-developing online world. âThe examination will look into the effectiveness of the current law in relation to criminalising, for example, harmful depictions of incest and any types of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,â stated a justice minister. Advocates Call For Tighter Digital Controls Campaigners for tighter regulation of online pornography have called on the authorities to ban so-called âbarely legalâ material. This encompasses content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote abuse by casting youthful adults dressed as children. Proposed amendments to government bills aim to: Prohibit pornography where adults are impersonating children, often recorded in environments like childrenâs bedrooms. Broaden the crime of making an indecent image of a child to include material where an adult acts the part of a child. Apply stricter controls on incest-themed pornography, which research suggests is heavily recommended by site systems. Add additional restrictions on ânudificationâ software, potentially making it an illegal act to own tools designed to create non-consensual nude images. Create a new, separate regulatory body to perform spot checks on pornography sites and respond to reports of illegal content. The campaigners argue that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for decades in the physical world finally are extended to the digital age.