UK Pornography Site Visits Declines Following Age Checks, Yet Virtual Private Network Usage Surges, States Regulator
Traffic to pornography platforms in the UK has seen a notable drop since the introduction of age-checking measures earlier this year, according to the nation's communications regulator. Concurrently, the adoption of tools designed to bypass these barriers has surged.
Sharp Fall in Visitor Figures After Law Implementation
The introduction of age verification on 25 July caused an prompt decline in visits to major pornography sites, such as the most visited provider in the UK. Figures indicates that user traffic to this platform in August reached 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.
Overall, visitor numbers to the 10 most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a markedly decreased volume than prior to the end-of-July implementation date. Subsequent data shows this downward trend in site visits continued past August.
Surge in VPN Adoption to Evade Restrictions
Reacting to the new regulations, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can circumvent location-based restrictions by routing connections via another nation—surged after 25 July.
Usage peaked at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from approximately 650,000 users prior to the checks were introduced. Subsequently, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has since decreased, with latest figures at around 900,000. It clarified that the level of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for adult sites.
Young People Taking Action to Damaging Material
In other findings, the regulator's annual study found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering damaging content online. Actions included flagging the content to the site to blocking the user who shared it.
This research was carried out prior to new regulations took effect that require social media companies to stop children from accessing dangerous content, including material related to self-harm and adult material. The most common way teenagers came across such content was by scrolling through a social media feed, suggesting that recommendation systems were serving inappropriate material.
Ministers Launch Review of Pornography Legislation
Separately, the government stated it would examine the criminal law relating to pornography to consider whether it is adequate in the modern digital age.
“The review will look into the efficacy of the existing law in regarding making illegal, for example, harmful depictions of incest and any forms of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” said a justice minister.
Campaigners Push For Stricter Online Controls
Advocates for tighter control of adult content have urged the authorities to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote abuse by casting youthful adults portraying children.
Proposed amendments to government bills aim to:
- Ban pornography where performers are mimicking children, sometimes recorded in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the crime of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an adult plays the role of a child.
- Introduce stricter controls on incest-themed pornography, which studies suggests is heavily recommended by platform algorithms.
- Add additional controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to possess tools designed to generate non-consensual nude images.
- Create a new, separate regulatory body to conduct spot checks on pornography sites and act on reports of illegal content.
The campaigners argue that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for years in the physical world finally are extended to the online sphere.
