UK Pornography Site Visits Falls After Age Checks, But Virtual Private Network Usage Surges, Reports Watchdog
Access to adult content sites in the United Kingdom has decreased markedly since the introduction of mandatory age verification this summer, according to the country's communications watchdog. At the same time, the adoption of tools designed to circumvent these restrictions has risen.
Sharp Fall in Visitor Figures Following Rule Implementation
The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July resulted in an swift fall in traffic to leading pornography sites, such as the top provider in the UK. Figures shows that visitor numbers to this platform in August stood at 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million compared to the equivalent month 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 late July implementation date. Subsequent data suggests this downward trend in site visits continued past August.
Surge in VPN Adoption to Evade Restrictions
Reacting to the new rules, use of VPN software—which can circumvent geographic blocks by routing internet traffic via another nation—surged following 25 July.
User numbers reached a high at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from around 650,000 users before the checks began. However, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has since steadily declined, with latest numbers at approximately 900,000. It added that the volume of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for pornography sites.
Teenagers Taking Action to Harmful Online Content
Elsewhere, the watchdog's report found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing harmful content online. Actions ranged from flagging the material to the site to muting the user who posted it.
This research was carried out before new regulations took effect that compel platforms to stop children from seeing harmful content, including material related to suicide and adult material. The primary way teenagers came across such content was by looking through a platform timeline, indicating that algorithms were serving harmful material.
Ministers Announce Examination of Adult Content Legislation
Separately, the government announced it would review the criminal law governing pornography to consider whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern online world.
“The review will investigate the efficacy of the current law in regarding criminalising, among other things, damaging portrayals of incest and any forms of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” stated a government official.
Advocates Push For Tighter Online Regulations
Campaigners for tighter regulation of online pornography have called on the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote abuse by using youthful performers dressed as children.
Proposed amendments to government bills seek to:
- Ban pornography where adults are impersonating children, sometimes filmed in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the offence of making an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an adult plays the role of a child.
- Introduce stricter controls on incest-themed pornography, which research indicates is often promoted by platform systems.
- Add additional controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to possess tools designed to create non-consensual nude images.
- Establish a new, independent regulatory body to conduct inspections on pornography sites and act on complaints of illegal content.
The advocates contend that these measures would ensure the protections that have existed for years offline finally apply to the digital age.
