UK Pornography Site Visits Falls After Identity Verifications, Yet Virtual Private Network Usage Surges, Reports Watchdog
Visitor numbers to pornography sites in the UK has seen a notable drop since the roll-out of mandatory age verification earlier this year, as reported by the country's communications watchdog. At the same time, the usage of specialist software designed to circumvent these barriers has surged.
Sharp Drop in Visitor Figures Following Law Enforcement
The introduction of age vetting on 25 July caused an prompt reduction in visits to popular pornography sites, including the top provider in the UK. Data shows that user traffic to this site in August reached 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024.
In total, visitor numbers to the ten top adult services in the UK have now stabilized at a “lower level” than prior to the late July deadline. Later analysis indicates this downward trend in viewing continued beyond August.
Sharp Increase in VPN Adoption to Bypass Restrictions
Reacting to the new rules, use of VPN software—which can circumvent location-based blocks by routing internet traffic through another nation—increased dramatically after 25 July.
Usage reached a high at more than 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from around 650,000 users before the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has afterwards decreased, with current figures at approximately 900,000. It added that the volume of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for adult sites.
Young People Taking Action to Harmful Online Content
Elsewhere, the regulator's report revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering harmful content on the internet. Actions ranged from reporting the material to the site to blocking the user who shared it.
This research was carried out prior to new rules took effect that compel platforms to stop children from seeing harmful content, including material related to self-harm and adult material. The most common way teenagers came across such content was by looking through a platform timeline, suggesting that recommendation systems were serving harmful material.
Government Announce Review of Adult Content Legislation
Separately, the ministers stated it would examine the legislation relating to pornography to assess whether it is “fit for purpose” in the ever-developing online world.
“The review will look into the efficacy of the current law in relation to making illegal, among other things, damaging portrayals of incest and any types of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” stated a justice minister.
Advocates Push For Tighter Online Regulations
Advocates for better control of adult content have called on the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote child sexual abuse by using young-looking adults portraying children.
Proposed changes to government bills aim to:
- Prohibit pornography where adults are mimicking children, often filmed in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the crime of making an indecent image of a child to include material where an adult acts the part of a child.
- Apply stricter controls on incest-themed pornography, which studies suggests is heavily recommended by platform systems.
- Add further controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to possess tools designed to generate non-consensual nude images.
- Establish a new, separate regulatory body to conduct spot checks on pornography sites and act on reports of illegal content.
The campaigners contend that these measures would ensure the protections that have been enforced for decades in the physical world finally are extended to the online sphere.
