UK Pornography Site Visits Falls After Identity Checks, Yet VPN Use Surges, States Watchdog
Access to adult content sites in the UK has seen a notable drop after the introduction of mandatory age verification this summer, according to the nation's communications authority. At the same time, the use of specialist software designed to bypass these barriers has risen.
Immediate Fall in Visitor Figures After Law Implementation
The introduction of age verification on 25 July led to an swift reduction in visits to major pornography sites, including the top site in the UK. Figures shows that user traffic to this platform in August stood at 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million compared to the equivalent month in 2024.
In total, visitor numbers to the 10 most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a markedly decreased volume than before the end-of-July deadline. Subsequent data indicates this decline in site visits persisted past August.
Surge in VPN Usage to Evade Checks
Reacting to the new rules, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can bypass geographic restrictions by masking connections through another nation—surged following 25 July.
User numbers reached a high at more than 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from approximately 650,000 people before the checks began. Subsequently, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has afterwards decreased, with latest figures standing at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the volume of regular VPN use is “much lower” than user numbers for pornography sites.
Young People Taking Action to Harmful Online Content
In other findings, the watchdog's annual study found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering damaging content on the internet. Steps taken included reporting the material to the platform to muting the user who posted it.
This research was carried out before new regulations took effect that require social media companies to prevent children from seeing harmful content, such as material related to suicide and pornography. The most common way young people came across such content was by scrolling through a platform timeline, suggesting that recommendation systems were serving inappropriate material.
Government Launch Review of Pornography Laws
Separately, the government stated it would examine the legislation governing pornography to consider whether it is effective in the modern digital age.
“The examination will investigate the effectiveness of the existing law in relation to criminalising, for example, harmful portrayals of familial abuse and any types of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” stated a government official.
Campaigners Push For Stricter Digital Regulations
Campaigners for better regulation of adult content have urged the authorities to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote abuse by casting youthful performers portraying children.
Suggested changes to government bills seek to:
- Prohibit pornography where adults are mimicking children, sometimes filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the offence of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an older performer acts the part of a child.
- Introduce stricter controls on incest-themed pornography, which studies suggests is often promoted by platform systems.
- Introduce further controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to own tools designed to create non-consensual nude images.
- Create a new, separate regulatory body to perform inspections on adult platforms and respond to complaints of illegal content.
The campaigners contend that these steps would ensure the protections that have existed for years offline finally apply to the online sphere.
