British Pornography Site Visits Declines After Age Verifications, Yet Virtual Private Network Use Spikes, States Regulator
Visitor numbers to adult content platforms in the United Kingdom has fallen significantly after the roll-out of mandatory age verification this summer, as reported by the country's communications regulator. At the same time, the usage of specialist software designed to circumvent these barriers has risen.
Immediate Fall in User Numbers Following Rule Implementation
The introduction of age vetting on 25 July caused an swift fall in traffic to popular pornography sites, including the leading provider in the UK. Data indicates that user traffic to this site in August were 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million compared to the same period in 2024.
In total, visitor numbers to the 10 top pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a markedly decreased volume than before the late July deadline. Subsequent data suggests this downward trend in viewing continued past August.
Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Bypass Restrictions
Reacting to the new rules, adoption of VPN software—which can circumvent geographic blocks by routing internet traffic through another country—surged following 25 July.
Usage reached a high at over 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from approximately 650,000 people before the verification began. Subsequently, the regulator noted that VPN usage has afterwards decreased, with current figures at approximately 900,000. It added that the level of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for adult services.
Teenagers Responding to Harmful Material
Elsewhere, the regulator's report found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering damaging content on the internet. Actions ranged from flagging the content to the platform to muting the person who posted it.
This research was conducted before new regulations took effect that compel platforms to stop children from accessing harmful content, including material related to suicide and pornography. The primary way teenagers came across such content was by scrolling through a social media timeline, suggesting that algorithms were showing harmful material.
Ministers Announce Review of Pornography Laws
Separately, the government announced it would examine the legislation relating to pornography to assess whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern online world.
“The examination will investigate the effectiveness of the current law in relation to criminalising, for example, harmful portrayals of incest and any types of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” stated a government official.
Campaigners Push For Tighter Online Regulations
Advocates for tighter regulation of adult content have urged 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 performers dressed as children.
Suggested amendments to government bills aim to:
- Prohibit pornography where performers are mimicking children, often recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the offence of making an indecent image of a child to cover material where an adult acts the part of a child.
- Apply tighter controls on incest-themed pornography, which research suggests is often promoted by platform algorithms.
- Introduce additional controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to possess software designed to create non-consensual nude images.
- Create a new, separate oversight agency to conduct spot checks on pornography sites and act on complaints of unlawful content.
The campaigners argue that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have existed for years in the physical world finally apply to the online sphere.
