UK Pornography Site Visits Declines Following Identity Checks, But Virtual Private Network Usage Spikes, Reports Regulator
Traffic to adult content platforms in the UK has decreased markedly after the roll-out of mandatory age verification this summer, as reported by the country's communications authority. Simultaneously, the adoption of tools designed to circumvent these blocks has surged.
Sharp Drop in Visitor Figures After Rule Implementation
The introduction of age vetting on 25 July led to an immediate reduction in traffic to major pornography sites, including the leading provider in the UK. Data shows that visitor numbers to this site in August reached 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million compared to the same period in 2024.
In total, visitor numbers to the 10 most-visited adult services in the UK have now settled at a “lower level” than before the end-of-July implementation date. Subsequent data indicates this slump in viewing persisted past August.
Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Evade Restrictions
Reacting to the new regulations, use of VPN software—which can circumvent location-based blocks by routing connections through another country—more than doubled after 25 July.
User numbers reached a high at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from approximately 650,000 people before the checks began. Subsequently, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has afterwards decreased, with current numbers at around 900,000. It added that the level of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for pornography services.
Teenagers Taking Action to Damaging Material
In other findings, the watchdog's annual study revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing harmful content on the internet. Steps taken ranged from reporting the material to the platform to muting the person who posted it.
This survey was carried out prior to new regulations took effect that require social media companies to stop children from seeing harmful content, including material related to suicide and pornography. The most common way teenagers came across such content was by scrolling through a social media feed, indicating that algorithms were showing harmful material.
Ministers Launch Examination of Adult Content Laws
Separately, the ministers announced it would review the legislation relating to pornography to consider whether it is effective in the modern digital age.
“The examination will look into the effectiveness of the current law in relation to making illegal, for example, damaging depictions of familial abuse and any types of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” stated a justice minister.
Campaigners Push For Stricter Digital Regulations
Campaigners for better control of adult content have urged the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote child sexual abuse by using young-looking performers portraying children.
Proposed changes to legislation aim to:
- Prohibit pornography where performers are impersonating children, sometimes filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the offence of creating an indecent image of a child to include material where an adult plays the role of a child.
- Apply tighter regulation on familial abuse pornography, which studies indicates is heavily recommended by platform algorithms.
- Add additional controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to own tools designed to create private images without permission.
- Establish a new, independent oversight agency to conduct inspections on adult platforms and act on complaints of illegal content.
The campaigners argue that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have existed for years offline finally apply to the digital age.
