UK Pornography Site Visits Declines After Age Checks, Yet Virtual Private Network Usage Surges, States Watchdog
Visitor numbers to adult content websites in the United Kingdom has decreased markedly after the enforcement of mandatory age verification earlier this year, according to the country's communications authority. At the same time, the use of specialist software designed to bypass these restrictions has risen.
Sharp Drop in Visitor Figures After Rule Enforcement
The introduction of age verification on 25 July caused an prompt fall in visits to popular online adult platforms, such as the top site in the UK. Figures shows that visitor numbers to this platform in August reached 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024.
Overall, visitor numbers to the ten most-visited adult services in the UK have now settled at a markedly decreased volume than before the end-of-July implementation date. Later analysis indicates this slump in viewing persisted past August.
Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Evade Checks
In response to the new rules, adoption of VPN software—which can bypass geographic blocks by routing internet traffic through another country—more than doubled after 25 July.
User numbers peaked at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from around 650,000 people prior to the checks began. However, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has afterwards fallen back, with current numbers standing at around 900,000. It clarified that the volume of daily VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for pornography services.
Young People Taking Action to Damaging Material
In other findings, the regulator's annual study revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering distressing content online. Steps taken included flagging the material to the site to muting the person who shared it.
This research was conducted prior to new regulations took effect that compel social media companies to stop children from accessing dangerous content, such as material related to suicide and adult material. The primary way young people came across such content was by looking 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 review the criminal law relating to pornography to consider whether it is “fit for purpose” in the ever-developing digital age.
“The review will look into the effectiveness of the current law in regarding making illegal, for example, harmful depictions of familial abuse and any forms of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” said a government official.
Advocates Push For Tighter Digital Regulations
Campaigners for better regulation of online pornography have urged the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote child sexual abuse by using youthful adults dressed as children.
Suggested changes to legislation aim to:
- Prohibit pornography where performers are mimicking children, sometimes filmed in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the crime of making an indecent image of a child to cover material where an older performer acts the part of a child.
- Introduce tighter controls on incest-themed pornography, which research indicates is often promoted by site systems.
- Add additional restrictions on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to own software designed to generate private images without permission.
- Establish a new, independent regulatory body to perform inspections on pornography sites and act on complaints of unlawful content.
The campaigners contend that these steps would ensure the protections that have been enforced for years in the physical world finally apply to the online sphere.
