British Pornography Site Visits Declines Following Identity Verifications, But VPN Usage Surges, Reports Watchdog
Visitor numbers to pornography platforms in the United Kingdom has fallen significantly since the enforcement of mandatory age verification earlier this year, as reported by the nation's communications regulator. Simultaneously, the adoption of tools designed to bypass these barriers has surged.
Immediate Fall in Visitor Numbers After Rule Implementation
The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July resulted in an swift fall in traffic to popular online adult platforms, such as the leading site in the UK. Figures shows that visitor numbers to this platform in August stood at 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024.
Overall, traffic to the 10 most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a markedly decreased volume than prior to the late July implementation date. Subsequent analysis suggests this downward trend in viewing continued beyond August.
Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Evade Checks
Reacting to the new rules, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can circumvent location-based blocks by masking internet traffic through another nation—surged after 25 July.
User numbers peaked at more than 1.4 million in mid-August, up from approximately 650,000 users before the checks were introduced. However, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has since decreased, with current figures at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the level of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for pornography services.
Teenagers Responding to Harmful Material
Elsewhere, the regulator's report found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing harmful content online. Actions ranged from flagging the content to the platform to muting the user who shared it.
This survey was conducted before new rules came into force that compel social media companies to stop children from seeing dangerous content, such as material related to suicide and adult material. The primary way teenagers encountered such content was by looking through a platform feed, suggesting that recommendation systems were showing harmful material.
Ministers Announce Examination of Adult Content Legislation
In a related development, the government announced it would examine the legislation governing pornography to assess whether it is “fit for purpose” in the ever-developing online world.
“The examination will investigate the effectiveness of the existing law in regarding criminalising, among other things, harmful depictions of incest and any types of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” said a government official.
Advocates Call For Stricter Online Regulations
Advocates for better control of adult content have called on the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages abuse by casting youthful adults dressed as children.
Proposed changes to government bills seek to:
- Prohibit pornography where adults are impersonating children, often recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the crime of creating an indecent image of a child to include material where an older performer plays the role of a child.
- Apply tighter controls on familial abuse pornography, which studies suggests is heavily recommended by site algorithms.
- Introduce additional restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to own software designed to create non-consensual nude images.
- Establish a new, independent regulatory body to conduct inspections on pornography sites and act on complaints of unlawful content.
The campaigners contend that these steps would ensure the protections that have existed for years in the physical world finally are extended to the online sphere.
