UK Pornography Site Visits Falls Following Identity Verifications, But VPN Usage Spikes, States Watchdog
Traffic to adult content platforms in the UK has fallen significantly after the introduction of mandatory age verification earlier this year, as reported by the nation's communications regulator. At the same time, the use of specialist software designed to bypass these restrictions has surged.
Immediate Drop in Visitor Figures Following Law Enforcement
The introduction of age vetting on 25 July caused an swift decline in visits to major pornography sites, including the most visited provider in the UK. Figures shows that user traffic to this site in August reached 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.
In total, visitor numbers to the 10 top pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a markedly decreased volume than prior to the end-of-July implementation date. Subsequent analysis indicates this slump in viewing continued past August.
Surge in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Bypass Restrictions
Reacting to the new regulations, adoption of VPN software—which can bypass geographic restrictions by routing internet traffic via another country—increased dramatically following 25 July.
User numbers reached a high at over 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from approximately 650,000 users prior to the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the regulator noted that VPN usage has since steadily declined, with current figures standing at around 900,000. It added that the level of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for pornography services.
Teenagers Responding to Damaging Material
In other findings, the watchdog's report revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing harmful content on the internet. Actions ranged from reporting the material to the site to muting the person who shared it.
This research was conducted before new rules came into force that require platforms to prevent children from seeing harmful content, including material related to self-harm and pornography. The most common way teenagers came across such content was by looking through a platform feed, suggesting that algorithms were serving harmful material.
Government Announce Examination of Pornography Laws
Separately, the ministers announced it would review the criminal law relating to pornography to assess whether it is adequate in the modern digital age.
“The examination will look into the efficacy of the existing law in regarding criminalising, for example, harmful depictions of incest and any forms of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” stated a justice minister.
Advocates Push For Tighter Digital Controls
Advocates for better control of online pornography have called on the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring incest scenes or that encourages abuse by using youthful performers dressed as children.
Proposed changes to legislation seek to:
- Ban pornography where performers are impersonating children, sometimes recorded in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the crime of making an indecent image of a child to cover material where an adult acts the part of a child.
- Introduce stricter regulation on familial abuse pornography, which research indicates is often promoted by site systems.
- Add further controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to possess tools designed to create non-consensual nude images.
- Establish a new, independent oversight agency to perform inspections on pornography sites and respond to reports of unlawful content.
The advocates contend that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for years in the physical world finally apply to the digital age.
