British Pornography Site Visits Falls After Identity Verifications, Yet Virtual Private Network Usage Spikes, States Regulator
Traffic to pornography sites in the United Kingdom has decreased markedly since the enforcement of age-checking measures this summer, according to the nation's communications watchdog. At the same time, the usage of specialist software designed to circumvent these restrictions has increased.
Sharp Drop in Visitor Numbers After Law Enforcement
The introduction of age vetting on 25 July resulted in an immediate reduction in visits to leading online adult platforms, such as the leading provider in the UK. Data indicates that user traffic to this site 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 ten most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a “lower level” than prior to the late July deadline. Later analysis suggests this downward trend in viewing continued beyond August.
Sharp Increase in VPN Adoption to Evade Checks
In response to the new regulations, use of VPN software—which can circumvent geographic restrictions by masking connections via another country—more than doubled after 25 July.
User numbers reached a high at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from around 650,000 people prior to the verification began. Subsequently, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has afterwards fallen back, with latest numbers standing at approximately 900,000. It added that the volume of regular VPN use is “much lower” than user numbers for pornography sites.
Young People Responding to Damaging Material
Elsewhere, the watchdog's annual study found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering distressing content on the internet. Steps taken included reporting the content to the site to muting the user who posted it.
This survey was conducted prior to new regulations came into force that require platforms to stop children from seeing dangerous content, including material related to suicide and pornography. The primary way teenagers encountered such content was by scrolling through a social media feed, suggesting that recommendation systems were serving harmful material.
Government Announce Review of Pornography Laws
Separately, the ministers stated it would examine the criminal law governing pornography to assess whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern online world.
“The examination will look into the efficacy of the current law in regarding criminalising, among other things, damaging depictions of familial abuse and any types of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” said a government official.
Campaigners Call For Tighter Online Controls
Campaigners for tighter control of adult content have called on the government to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages child sexual abuse by using young-looking adults dressed as children.
Suggested changes to government bills aim to:
- Ban pornography where adults are mimicking children, often recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the offence of making an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an older performer acts the part of a child.
- Introduce stricter regulation on familial abuse pornography, which research indicates is often promoted by site algorithms.
- Introduce further restrictions on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to possess tools designed to create non-consensual nude images.
- Create a new, independent regulatory body to perform inspections on adult platforms and respond to reports of illegal content.
The campaigners contend that these steps would ensure the protections that have been enforced for years offline finally are extended to the digital age.
