UK Pornography Site Visits Declines After Identity Verifications, Yet VPN Usage Spikes, Reports Watchdog
Access to adult content websites in the United Kingdom has seen a notable drop since the enforcement of age-checking measures this summer, according to the country's communications watchdog. Simultaneously, the adoption of tools designed to bypass these restrictions has risen.
Immediate Drop in Visitor Figures Following Rule Enforcement
The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July caused an prompt decline in visits to popular pornography sites, such as the leading site in the UK. Figures reveals that user traffic to this site in August reached 9.8 million, a decrease 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 markedly decreased volume than prior to the late July implementation date. Later analysis shows this slump in site visits continued past August.
Sharp Increase in VPN Usage to Bypass Restrictions
Reacting to the new regulations, adoption of VPN software—which can bypass location-based restrictions by routing internet traffic through another nation—surged following 25 July.
Usage reached a high at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from approximately 650,000 people prior to the checks began. Subsequently, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has afterwards decreased, with latest numbers standing at around 900,000. It added that the volume of regular VPN use is “much lower” than user numbers for adult sites.
Teenagers Responding to Damaging Online Content
Elsewhere, the watchdog's report found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing distressing content online. Actions included flagging the material to the site to blocking the user who posted it.
This survey was carried out prior to new rules took effect that require platforms to stop children from accessing harmful content, such as material related to self-harm and pornography. The primary way young people came across such content was by looking through a platform timeline, suggesting that recommendation systems were showing inappropriate material.
Ministers Announce Review of Pornography Laws
In a related development, the ministers announced it would review the criminal law governing pornography to consider whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern digital age.
“The review will investigate the efficacy of the existing law in relation to criminalising, for example, harmful portrayals of incest and any types of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” stated a government official.
Campaigners Push For Stricter Digital Regulations
Advocates for tighter regulation of adult content have urged 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.
Suggested amendments to government bills seek to:
- Ban pornography where performers are impersonating children, sometimes filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the crime of creating an indecent image of a child to cover material where an adult plays the role of a child.
- Apply tighter controls on familial abuse pornography, which studies indicates is often promoted by site systems.
- Introduce further controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to possess tools designed to generate private images without permission.
- Establish a new, separate regulatory body to conduct spot checks on adult platforms and respond to complaints of illegal content.
The campaigners argue that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for years in the physical world finally apply to the digital age.