British Pornography Site Visits Declines Following Age Checks, But VPN Usage Spikes, Reports Watchdog
Traffic to pornography sites in the UK has seen a notable drop since the roll-out of age-checking measures earlier this year, as reported by the nation's communications authority. Simultaneously, the use of specialist software designed to circumvent these restrictions has surged.
Sharp Drop in Visitor Figures After Law Enforcement
The introduction of age verification on 25 July caused an immediate fall in traffic to leading pornography sites, including the top provider in the UK. Data reveals that visitor numbers to this platform in August were 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.
Overall, traffic to the 10 most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a significantly reduced level than prior to the late July implementation date. Later analysis shows this decline in viewing continued beyond August.
Surge in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Bypass Checks
In response to the new rules, adoption of VPN software—which can bypass location-based restrictions by routing internet traffic via another country—more than doubled following 25 July.
Usage peaked at over 1.4 million in mid-August, up from around 650,000 users prior to the checks were introduced. However, the regulator noted that VPN usage has afterwards decreased, with latest figures standing at around 900,000. It clarified that the volume of regular VPN use is “much lower” than user numbers for adult services.
Young People Responding to Harmful Material
In other findings, the watchdog's annual study revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing damaging content online. Steps taken ranged from flagging the material to the platform to blocking the user who posted it.
This research was carried out before new regulations took effect that require platforms to prevent children from accessing dangerous content, including material related to suicide and pornography. The primary way teenagers encountered such content was by scrolling through a platform timeline, indicating that algorithms were showing harmful material.
Government Announce Review of Pornography Laws
In a related development, the ministers announced it would review the legislation relating to pornography to assess whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern digital age.
“The examination will investigate the effectiveness of the current law in relation to criminalising, among other things, harmful portrayals of familial abuse and any types of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” stated a justice minister.
Advocates Call For Tighter Online Regulations
Advocates for better regulation of adult content have called on the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote abuse by casting youthful performers dressed as children.
Proposed changes to government bills seek to:
- Ban pornography where adults are impersonating children, often filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the offence of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an older performer acts the part of a child.
- Introduce tighter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which studies suggests is heavily recommended by platform systems.
- Add further controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to own software designed to create private images without permission.
- Establish a new, independent oversight agency to perform spot checks on adult platforms and respond to reports of unlawful content.
The advocates argue that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have existed for years in the physical world finally apply to the online sphere.
