Well, it was fun while it lasted. Britain’s latest attempt to protect its citizens from the horrors of the internet has, predictably, created a whole new set of problems. Following the enforcement of the new Online Safety Act, which mandates that adult websites must check a user’s age, traffic to the world’s most popular porn sites has plummeted. For a brief moment, it seemed the UK had found a way to make the internet a purer, more wholesome place. We all should have known better.
The data analytics firm Similarweb reports that Pornhub, the UK’s most visited site for adult content, saw a whopping 47% drop in traffic. Other sites, like XVideos, saw similar declines, while OnlyFans took a more modest, but still noticeable, 10% hit. On the surface, this looks like a huge win for online safety. Fewer minors are getting access to inappropriate content, right?
The Inevitable Backlash
But this is the internet, and a well intentioned law is just a challenge to be overcome. The same data that showed a drop in traffic to the big sites also showed a surge in visits to smaller, less regulated pornography sites. It’s a classic case of whack-a-mole: you close one door, and a hundred other, more dubious doors open.
But the real fun began when internet users, predictably, went ballistic. Suddenly, everyone in the UK was an expert on privacy and digital rights. The need to share personal information like IDs, credit cards, or even selfies to access content sparked a huge backlash. People flocked to VPN apps, which immediately became the most downloaded apps on the Apple App Store. A VPN, for those not in the know, is a clever little tool that makes it look like you’re Browse from another country, rendering the UK’s new law about as useful as a chocolate teapot.
The backlash wasn’t just from angry internet users. US politicians, led by the likes of Vice President JD Vance and House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, also weighed in, complaining that the UK’s new rules were an infringement on free expression and could harm American tech companies. Because, of course, a law designed to protect children from harmful content is a direct threat to the First Amendment rights of US companies. The hypocrisy is just delicious.
In the end, it seems the UK’s grand experiment in online safety has had a very predictable outcome. It’s driven people to shadier corners of the internet, made VPN providers rich, and sparked a global argument about internet freedom. Good intentions are a beautiful thing, but as we’ve learned, they rarely stand a chance against the sheer will of the internet.
