British Pornography Site Visits Declines After Identity Verifications, Yet VPN Usage Surges, Reports Regulator
Traffic to pornography sites in the United Kingdom has fallen significantly since the enforcement of mandatory age verification earlier this year, as reported by the nation's communications authority. At the same time, the use of tools designed to dodge these barriers has surged.
Sharp Fall in User Numbers Following Law Implementation
The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July caused an swift fall in traffic to popular online adult platforms, such as the leading site in the UK. Data indicates that visitor numbers to this platform in August were 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.
Overall, traffic to the 10 top adult services in the UK have now settled at a markedly decreased volume than prior to the end-of-July implementation date. Subsequent analysis indicates this decline in site visits persisted beyond August.
Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Usage to Bypass Checks
In response to the new rules, use of VPN software—which can circumvent location-based blocks by masking connections through another country—more than doubled following 25 July.
Usage reached a high at over 1.4 million in mid-August, up from around 650,000 users before the verification were introduced. However, the regulator noted that VPN usage has afterwards decreased, with current figures standing at approximately 900,000. It added that the level of daily VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for adult sites.
Young People Responding to Harmful Material
In other findings, the regulator's report revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering distressing content online. Steps taken ranged from flagging the content to the platform to muting the person who posted it.
This survey was conducted prior to new regulations took effect that require platforms to prevent children from accessing dangerous content, including material related to self-harm and pornography. The primary way young people came across such content was by scrolling through a social media feed, indicating that algorithms were showing harmful material.
Ministers Announce Examination of Adult Content Laws
In a related development, the ministers announced it would review the criminal law governing pornography to assess whether it is effective in the ever-developing online world.
“The review will investigate the efficacy of the existing law in regarding criminalising, among other things, damaging portrayals of familial abuse and any types of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” stated a government official.
Campaigners Call For Stricter Digital Controls
Advocates for better regulation of online pornography have urged the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages child sexual abuse by using young-looking performers portraying children.
Suggested amendments to government bills seek to:
- Ban pornography where adults are impersonating children, sometimes recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the offence of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an older performer plays the role of a child.
- Introduce tighter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which research indicates is often promoted by site systems.
- Add additional restrictions 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 conduct spot checks on pornography sites and act on reports of illegal content.
The campaigners contend that these measures would ensure the protections that have been enforced for years offline finally are extended to the digital age.
