UK Pornography Site Visits Declines Following Identity Checks, But VPN Use Spikes, States Regulator
Access to adult content websites in the UK has seen a notable drop since the introduction of mandatory age verification earlier this year, as reported by the nation's communications watchdog. At the same time, the adoption of tools designed to circumvent these blocks has surged.
Immediate Fall in Visitor Figures After Law Enforcement
The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July caused an prompt fall in traffic to popular online adult platforms, such as the most visited provider in the UK. Figures reveals that user traffic 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 10 top adult services in the UK have now stabilized at a markedly decreased volume than before the late July implementation date. Subsequent data suggests this slump in viewing persisted past August.
Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Usage to Evade Checks
Reacting to the new rules, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can get around geographic restrictions by routing connections through another nation—more than doubled following 25 July.
Usage peaked at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from around 650,000 people before the verification began. However, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has since decreased, with latest numbers at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the level of regular VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for adult services.
Teenagers Taking Action to Harmful Online Content
In other findings, the watchdog's report revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering damaging content online. Actions included flagging the material to the platform to blocking the person who posted it.
This survey was conducted before new regulations took effect that require platforms to stop children from seeing dangerous content, such as material related to self-harm and adult material. The primary way young people encountered such content was by looking through a platform timeline, suggesting that algorithms were serving inappropriate material.
Ministers Launch Review of Pornography Laws
In a related development, the government stated it would review the legislation relating to pornography to consider whether it is adequate in the modern online world.
“The review will look into the efficacy of the current law in regarding criminalising, for example, damaging depictions of familial abuse and any types of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” stated a government official.
Campaigners Push For Stricter Digital Controls
Campaigners for tighter control of adult content have urged the government to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages abuse by using youthful performers portraying children.
Suggested amendments to legislation seek to:
- Ban pornography where performers are mimicking children, sometimes filmed in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the offence of making an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an adult plays the role of a child.
- Introduce tighter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which studies suggests is heavily recommended by platform algorithms.
- Introduce further controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to own software designed to create private images without permission.
- Create a new, independent oversight agency to perform inspections on adult platforms and respond to complaints of unlawful content.
The campaigners argue that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have existed for years in the physical world finally are extended to the digital age.
