UK Pornography Site Visits Declines After Age Verifications, Yet Virtual Private Network Usage Spikes, States Regulator
Traffic to pornography platforms in the United Kingdom has fallen significantly since the introduction of age-checking measures this summer, according to the nation's communications regulator. At the same time, the adoption of specialist software designed to circumvent these restrictions has risen.
Immediate Fall in User Numbers After Law Implementation
The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July led to an swift reduction in visits to major online adult platforms, such as the most visited provider in the UK. Figures indicates that user traffic to this site in August were 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.
Overall, traffic to the 10 most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a significantly reduced level than prior to the late July deadline. Subsequent data suggests this slump in site visits persisted past August.
Surge in VPN Usage to Evade Checks
Reacting to the new rules, use of VPN software—which can circumvent geographic restrictions by routing internet traffic through another country—increased dramatically after 25 July.
Usage peaked at more than 1.4 million in mid-August, up from around 650,000 users before the checks began. Subsequently, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has afterwards steadily declined, with latest figures at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the volume of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for adult sites.
Teenagers Responding to Damaging Material
Elsewhere, the watchdog's report revealed 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 site to blocking the user who posted it.
This research was conducted before new rules took effect that require platforms to prevent children from seeing harmful content, including material related to suicide and pornography. The most common way young people encountered such content was by looking through a platform feed, suggesting that algorithms were serving inappropriate material.
Government Announce Examination of Pornography Laws
In a related development, the ministers announced it would review the legislation relating to pornography to consider whether it is effective in the modern digital age.
“The review will investigate the efficacy of the current law in regarding making illegal, for example, damaging portrayals of familial abuse and any forms of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” said a justice minister.
Advocates Call For Stricter Digital Controls
Advocates for better regulation of online pornography have urged the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages child sexual abuse by casting youthful performers portraying children.
Suggested amendments to government bills seek to:
- Prohibit pornography where adults are mimicking children, often filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the offence of creating an indecent image of a child to include material where an adult plays the role of a child.
- Apply stricter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which studies suggests is often promoted by platform algorithms.
- Introduce further restrictions on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to possess software designed to generate private images without permission.
- Create a new, separate regulatory body to perform inspections on pornography sites and respond to reports of unlawful content.
The campaigners argue that these measures would ensure the protections that have been enforced for decades offline finally are extended to the digital age.
