UK Pornography Site Visits Falls After Age Verifications, But Virtual Private Network Use Surges, States Watchdog
Access to adult content sites in the UK has seen a notable drop after the introduction of age-checking measures earlier this year, as reported by the country's communications authority. Concurrently, the usage of specialist software designed to circumvent these blocks has increased.
Sharp Drop in Visitor Numbers After Rule Implementation
The introduction of age vetting on 25 July led to an prompt decline in visits to popular pornography sites, including the most visited provider in the UK. Figures reveals that visitor numbers to this platform in August stood at 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024.
In total, traffic to the 10 top adult services in the UK have now settled at a significantly reduced level than prior to the late July implementation date. Later data suggests this slump in viewing persisted beyond August.
Sharp Increase in VPN Adoption to Bypass Checks
Reacting to the new rules, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can bypass geographic restrictions by routing internet traffic via another country—surged after 25 July.
User numbers peaked at more than 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from approximately 650,000 people prior to the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has since steadily declined, with latest numbers standing at around 900,000. It clarified that the volume of regular VPN use is “much lower” than user numbers for adult services.
Young People Taking Action to Damaging Online Content
Elsewhere, the watchdog's report revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering distressing content on the internet. Actions ranged from flagging the material to the platform to blocking the user who posted it.
This survey was conducted before new rules came into force that require social media companies to stop children from seeing harmful content, including material related to self-harm and pornography. The most common way young people encountered such content was by scrolling through a platform timeline, indicating that algorithms were serving inappropriate material.
Ministers Announce Examination of Adult Content Legislation
In a related development, the government stated it would review the legislation relating to pornography to assess whether it is “fit for purpose” in the ever-developing digital age.
“The review will look into the effectiveness of the existing law in regarding criminalising, for example, damaging depictions of familial abuse and any types of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” stated a government official.
Advocates Call For Tighter Digital Controls
Campaigners for tighter regulation of online pornography have urged the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote abuse by casting young-looking adults dressed as children.
Proposed amendments to legislation aim to:
- Prohibit pornography where performers are mimicking children, sometimes recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the crime of making an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an adult acts the part of a child.
- Apply tighter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which studies suggests is heavily recommended by site systems.
- Introduce further controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to own tools designed to create non-consensual nude images.
- Establish a new, independent regulatory body to perform spot checks on pornography sites and respond to reports of illegal content.
The advocates argue that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for years offline finally are extended to the online sphere.
