British Pornography Site Visits Declines After Identity Checks, Yet Virtual Private Network Use Surges, States Regulator
Access to adult content sites in the UK has seen a notable drop since the enforcement of age-checking measures earlier this year, as reported by the nation's communications authority. At the same time, the adoption of tools designed to dodge these restrictions has increased.
Immediate Fall in Visitor Figures Following Rule Enforcement
The introduction of age verification on 25 July led to an swift fall in visits to major online adult platforms, including the leading site in the UK. Figures indicates that user traffic to this site in August stood at 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024.
Overall, visitor numbers to the 10 top adult services in the UK have now settled at a “lower level” than prior to the end-of-July deadline. Subsequent analysis shows this slump in site visits continued beyond August.
Surge in VPN Usage to Bypass Restrictions
In response to the new rules, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can get around geographic blocks by routing connections through another nation—more than doubled following 25 July.
Usage reached a high at more than 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from approximately 650,000 people prior to the checks were introduced. Subsequently, the regulator noted that VPN usage has since steadily declined, with current numbers at around 900,000. It added that the volume of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for pornography sites.
Young People Responding to Damaging Online Content
Elsewhere, the regulator's report revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering damaging content online. Actions included reporting the content to the platform to muting the user who posted it.
This research was carried out prior to new regulations took effect that require social media companies to prevent children from seeing dangerous content, such as material related to suicide and pornography. The primary way teenagers came across such content was by looking through a platform timeline, suggesting that algorithms were serving harmful material.
Ministers Launch Examination of Pornography Laws
Separately, the government stated it would review the criminal law governing pornography to assess whether it is “fit for purpose” in the ever-developing online world.
“The examination will investigate the efficacy of the current law in regarding making illegal, among other things, harmful portrayals of incest and any forms of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” stated a justice minister.
Campaigners Call For Tighter Digital Controls
Advocates for better regulation of online pornography have called on the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that encourages child sexual abuse by using young-looking performers dressed as children.
Proposed changes to legislation aim to:
- Prohibit pornography where adults are impersonating children, often filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the offence of making an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an adult plays the role of a child.
- Introduce tighter controls on familial abuse pornography, which research suggests is heavily recommended by platform algorithms.
- Add additional restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to possess tools designed to create private images without permission.
- Create a new, independent regulatory body to perform spot checks on adult platforms and act on reports of unlawful content.
The advocates argue that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have existed for decades offline finally apply to the online sphere.
