UK Pornography Site Visits Declines Following Age Checks, But VPN Usage Spikes, Reports Watchdog
Traffic to adult content websites in the United Kingdom has fallen significantly since the introduction of mandatory age verification this summer, according to the nation's communications authority. Concurrently, the adoption of tools designed to bypass these blocks has surged.
Sharp Drop in Visitor Numbers Following Law Enforcement
The enforcement of age verification on 25 July resulted in an prompt reduction in visits to major online adult platforms, including the leading provider in the UK. Figures indicates that visitor numbers to this platform in August were 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million compared to the equivalent month in 2024.
Overall, traffic to the 10 top pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a “lower level” than prior to the late July deadline. Later data shows this slump in viewing persisted past August.
Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Evade Checks
Reacting to the new regulations, adoption of VPN software—which can circumvent geographic blocks by routing connections through another country—surged following 25 July.
User numbers peaked at more than 1.4 million in mid-August, up from approximately 650,000 people before the verification began. Subsequently, the regulator noted that VPN usage has afterwards fallen back, with current numbers at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the level of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for pornography sites.
Young People Taking Action to Harmful Material
Elsewhere, the watchdog's report found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering damaging content on the internet. Actions included flagging the material to the site to blocking the person who posted it.
This survey was carried out prior to new rules took effect that require platforms to stop children from accessing dangerous content, including material related to self-harm and adult material. The most common way young people came across such content was by looking through a social media feed, suggesting that recommendation systems were showing harmful material.
Ministers Launch Examination of Adult Content Laws
In a related development, the government stated it would review the criminal law relating to pornography to consider whether it is effective in the modern digital age.
“The examination will look into the efficacy of the existing law in relation to criminalising, for example, damaging depictions of familial abuse and any types of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” stated a government official.
Campaigners Push For Tighter Online Controls
Advocates 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 encourages child sexual abuse by casting youthful adults portraying children.
Proposed changes to government bills aim to:
- Ban pornography where adults are mimicking children, sometimes recorded in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the crime of creating an indecent image of a child to include material where an adult plays the role of a child.
- Apply stricter controls on incest-themed pornography, which research indicates is heavily recommended by platform systems.
- Add additional controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to own software designed to create private images without permission.
- Create a new, separate regulatory body to conduct spot checks on pornography sites and respond to reports of unlawful content.
The advocates argue that these steps would ensure the protections that have been enforced for decades in the physical world finally are extended to the digital age.
