British Pornography Site Visits Falls After Age Verifications, But Virtual Private Network Use Surges, States Watchdog
Visitor numbers to pornography websites in the UK has seen a notable drop since the introduction of mandatory age verification earlier this year, according to the nation's communications authority. Concurrently, the use of tools designed to dodge these barriers has risen.
Sharp Fall in User Figures Following Rule Enforcement
The introduction of age vetting on 25 July led to an swift fall in visits to popular online adult platforms, including the leading provider in the UK. Data indicates that user traffic to this platform in August stood at 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.
Overall, visitor numbers to the 10 top adult services in the UK have now stabilized at a markedly decreased volume than before the late July deadline. Later analysis shows this decline in site visits continued beyond August.
Surge in Virtual Private Network Usage to Evade Restrictions
Reacting to the new regulations, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can bypass location-based restrictions by routing connections through another nation—surged after 25 July.
Usage peaked at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from around 650,000 people before the verification were introduced. However, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has afterwards fallen back, with latest figures at approximately 900,000. It added that the level of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for pornography sites.
Young People Taking Action to Harmful Online Content
Elsewhere, the regulator's annual study revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing distressing content online. Actions ranged from flagging the material to the platform to muting the person who shared it.
This survey was carried out before new regulations took effect that require platforms to stop children from seeing harmful content, including material related to suicide 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 Examination of Adult Content Legislation
In a related development, the ministers stated it would review the legislation governing pornography to assess whether it is effective in the ever-developing online world.
“The review will look into the efficacy of the current law in regarding criminalising, for example, harmful depictions of incest and any forms of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” said a government official.
Campaigners Call For Tighter Online Controls
Advocates for better control of online pornography have called on the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote abuse by using young-looking performers dressed as children.
Proposed changes to legislation aim to:
- Ban pornography where performers are mimicking children, often recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the crime of making an indecent image of a child to cover material where an adult acts the part of a child.
- Introduce stricter regulation on familial abuse pornography, which research suggests is often promoted by site systems.
- Introduce additional restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to possess software designed to generate private images without permission.
- Establish a new, separate oversight agency to perform spot checks on adult platforms and respond to reports of unlawful content.
The advocates contend that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for decades in the physical world finally are extended to the digital age.
