British Pornography Site Visits Declines After Identity Verifications, Yet Virtual Private Network Usage Surges, Reports Watchdog
Traffic to pornography sites in the UK has seen a notable drop since the introduction of age-checking measures earlier this year, as reported by the nation's communications authority. Concurrently, the adoption of specialist software designed to circumvent these blocks has risen.
Immediate Drop in Visitor Numbers Following Rule Implementation
The introduction of age vetting on 25 July resulted in an prompt fall in traffic to major pornography sites, such as the leading site in the UK. Figures indicates that visitor numbers to this platform in August were 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024.
In total, visitor numbers 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 analysis suggests this slump in site visits continued past August.
Surge in VPN Usage to Bypass Restrictions
Reacting to the new regulations, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can get around geographic restrictions by routing connections via another country—more than doubled after 25 July.
Usage peaked at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from around 650,000 people before the checks began. However, the regulator noted that VPN usage has since decreased, with latest numbers at around 900,000. It added that the level of daily VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for adult sites.
Teenagers Responding to Damaging Material
Elsewhere, the regulator's annual study found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering harmful content on the internet. Actions ranged from flagging the content to the platform to muting the person who shared it.
This research was conducted prior to new regulations took effect that compel platforms to prevent children from accessing dangerous content, including material related to suicide and pornography. The primary way teenagers came across such content was by looking through a platform timeline, indicating that algorithms were serving harmful material.
Government Announce Review of Adult Content Legislation
In a related development, the government announced it would review the legislation governing pornography to assess whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern online world.
“The examination will look into the effectiveness of the current law in relation to making illegal, among other things, damaging depictions of familial abuse and any types of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” said a government official.
Campaigners Push For Stricter Online Regulations
Advocates for tighter control of adult content have urged the authorities to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages child sexual abuse by casting young-looking performers dressed as children.
Proposed changes to legislation aim to:
- Prohibit pornography where performers are impersonating children, sometimes recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the crime of making 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 suggests is heavily recommended by site algorithms.
- Add further restrictions on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to own software designed to generate private images without permission.
- Establish a new, independent regulatory body to conduct spot checks on adult platforms and act on complaints of illegal content.
The advocates contend that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for decades in the physical world finally apply to the digital age.
