UK Pornography Site Visits Falls Following Identity Checks, Yet Virtual Private Network Usage Surges, Reports Regulator
Access to adult content websites in the United Kingdom has decreased markedly since the enforcement of mandatory age verification earlier this year, according to the nation's communications watchdog. Concurrently, the use of tools designed to dodge these barriers has surged.
Sharp Fall in Visitor Figures After Rule Enforcement
The enforcement of age verification on 25 July led to an prompt reduction in traffic to major online adult platforms, such as the leading site in the UK. Data reveals that visitor numbers to this platform in August reached 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024.
Overall, visitor numbers to the ten most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a “lower level” than before the end-of-July deadline. Later data indicates this decline in site visits continued past August.
Surge in VPN Usage to Bypass Checks
In response to the new rules, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can get around geographic restrictions by masking connections through another country—increased dramatically after 25 July.
User numbers peaked at more than 1.4 million in mid-August, up from around 650,000 people before the verification were introduced. However, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has afterwards steadily declined, with latest figures at approximately 900,000. It added that the level of regular VPN use is “much lower” than user numbers for pornography services.
Young People Responding to Harmful Material
Elsewhere, the regulator's report found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering damaging content online. Steps taken included reporting the content to the site to muting the person who posted it.
This research was carried out before new regulations took effect that compel platforms to prevent children from accessing harmful content, including material related to suicide and pornography. The primary way young people came across such content was by looking through a social media feed, suggesting that algorithms were serving harmful material.
Ministers Announce Examination of Adult Content Laws
In a related development, the government announced it would review the legislation relating to 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 relation to making illegal, among other things, damaging portrayals of incest and any forms of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” stated a government official.
Campaigners Call For Stricter Digital Regulations
Advocates for better regulation 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 young-looking adults dressed as children.
Suggested amendments to legislation aim to:
- Ban pornography where adults are impersonating children, sometimes recorded in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the crime of making an indecent image of a child to cover material where an older performer plays the role of a child.
- Introduce stricter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which studies indicates is often promoted by platform systems.
- Introduce additional restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to possess tools designed to create private images without permission.
- Establish a new, separate regulatory body to conduct spot checks on pornography sites and respond to complaints of unlawful content.
The advocates argue that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have existed for decades offline finally apply to the digital age.
