British Pornography Site Visits Falls Following Identity Checks, Yet Virtual Private Network Usage Surges, States Regulator
Visitor numbers to adult content platforms in the UK has fallen significantly since the introduction of mandatory age verification earlier this year, as reported by the country's communications regulator. Concurrently, the use of tools designed to bypass these barriers has surged.
Sharp Drop in User Numbers Following Law Enforcement
The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July led to an prompt fall in traffic to popular pornography sites, including the leading provider in the UK. Data reveals that visitor numbers to this site in August reached 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.
Overall, visitor numbers to the ten most-visited adult services in the UK have now stabilized at a “lower level” than prior to the end-of-July deadline. Later data suggests this downward trend in viewing continued past August.
Sharp Increase in VPN Usage to Bypass Checks
Reacting to the new regulations, adoption of VPN software—which can get around location-based restrictions by routing internet traffic via another country—more than doubled following 25 July.
Usage peaked at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from approximately 650,000 people before the verification were introduced. However, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has afterwards fallen back, with latest figures at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the level of regular VPN use is “much lower” than user numbers for adult sites.
Young People Taking Action to Harmful Online Content
Elsewhere, the regulator's report found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing distressing content online. Actions ranged from reporting the material to the platform to muting the person who posted it.
This survey was conducted before new rules came into force that require platforms to prevent children from seeing dangerous content, including material related to self-harm and pornography. The most common way teenagers came across such content was by scrolling through a platform timeline, suggesting that algorithms were showing inappropriate material.
Government Announce Review of Pornography Laws
Separately, the ministers stated it would review the criminal law governing pornography to consider whether it is effective in the ever-developing online world.
“The examination will look into the efficacy of the current law in relation to making illegal, for example, harmful depictions of incest and any forms of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” stated a government official.
Advocates Call For Stricter Digital Controls
Campaigners for better regulation of adult content have urged the government to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote abuse by using youthful adults portraying children.
Proposed amendments to government bills seek to:
- Prohibit pornography where performers are mimicking children, often filmed in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the crime of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an adult plays the role of a child.
- Apply tighter controls on incest-themed pornography, which research indicates is often promoted by site systems.
- Introduce additional controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to own tools designed to generate non-consensual nude images.
- Establish a new, separate oversight agency to conduct inspections on pornography sites and act on complaints of illegal content.
The advocates argue that these measures would ensure the protections that have been enforced for years in the physical world finally apply to the online sphere.
