UK Pornography Site Visits Declines After Age Verifications, But Virtual Private Network Usage Surges, Reports Watchdog
Access to pornography websites in the United Kingdom has seen a notable drop after the enforcement of mandatory age verification earlier this year, as reported by the country's communications watchdog. At the same time, the adoption of tools designed to bypass these barriers has risen.
Sharp Drop in Visitor Figures After Rule Enforcement
The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July caused an prompt decline in traffic to major online adult platforms, including the top site in the UK. Figures reveals that user traffic to this platform in August were 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.
In total, traffic to the ten top pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a significantly reduced level than before the end-of-July deadline. Later data indicates this slump in site visits continued past August.
Surge in VPN Usage to Bypass Restrictions
Reacting to the new rules, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can get around location-based restrictions by masking internet traffic via another country—more than doubled after 25 July.
Usage peaked at over 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from approximately 650,000 users before the checks were introduced. Subsequently, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has afterwards fallen back, with latest figures at around 900,000. It clarified that the level of regular VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for pornography sites.
Young People Responding to Damaging Material
Elsewhere, the watchdog's annual study revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing damaging content on the internet. Actions included flagging the content to the site to muting the person who shared it.
This survey was conducted prior to new rules took effect that require platforms to stop children from accessing dangerous content, including material related to self-harm and pornography. The primary way teenagers encountered such content was by scrolling through a social media feed, indicating that recommendation systems were showing harmful material.
Government Announce Review of Adult Content Legislation
Separately, the ministers stated it would review the criminal law governing pornography to assess whether it is adequate in the ever-developing online world.
“The review will look into the effectiveness of the existing law in regarding making illegal, for example, harmful depictions of incest and any types of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” stated a government official.
Campaigners Push For Stricter Online Controls
Advocates for tighter control of adult content have urged the government to ban 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 aim to:
- Prohibit pornography where adults are impersonating children, often recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the offence of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an older performer plays the role of a child.
- Introduce tighter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which studies indicates is heavily recommended by site algorithms.
- Add further controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to possess tools designed to create private images without permission.
- Establish a new, separate oversight agency to perform inspections on pornography sites and respond to complaints of unlawful content.
The advocates argue that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for years in the physical world finally are extended to the digital age.
