UK Pornography Site Visits Falls Following Identity Checks, But Virtual Private Network Use Spikes, States Regulator
Traffic to pornography websites in the UK has seen a notable drop after the introduction of mandatory age verification this summer, according to the country's communications authority. Concurrently, the usage of tools designed to bypass these restrictions has surged.
Immediate Fall in User Figures After Law Enforcement
The introduction of age vetting on 25 July led to an swift decline in visits to leading online adult platforms, such as the leading provider in the UK. Data shows that visitor numbers to this platform in August stood at 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million compared to the same period in 2024.
Overall, traffic to the 10 top pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a “lower level” than prior to the end-of-July implementation date. Subsequent analysis suggests this downward trend in site visits continued beyond August.
Surge in VPN Usage to Evade Checks
Reacting to the new regulations, use of VPN software—which can bypass geographic restrictions by masking connections through another nation—surged after 25 July.
Usage reached a high at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from around 650,000 people prior to the verification were introduced. However, the regulator noted that VPN usage has since decreased, with latest figures standing at approximately 900,000. It added that the level of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for adult sites.
Young People Taking Action to Damaging Online Content
In other findings, the regulator's annual study revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing damaging content on the internet. Steps taken included flagging the content to the platform to muting the person who shared it.
This survey was carried out before new rules came into force that require social media companies to prevent children from seeing harmful content, including material related to suicide and adult material. The primary way teenagers came across such content was by scrolling through a platform feed, suggesting that algorithms were serving harmful material.
Ministers Launch Examination of Pornography Legislation
Separately, the ministers announced it would examine the criminal law governing pornography to consider whether it is adequate in the modern digital age.
“The review will look into the efficacy of the current law in regarding criminalising, among other things, damaging portrayals of familial abuse and any types of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” stated a justice minister.
Advocates Call For Tighter Digital Regulations
Advocates for better control of online pornography have called on the government to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote child sexual abuse by casting young-looking adults dressed as children.
Suggested amendments to legislation seek to:
- Prohibit pornography where adults are impersonating children, often filmed in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the offence of making an indecent image of a child to cover material where an older performer plays the role of a child.
- Introduce tighter regulation on familial abuse pornography, which studies suggests is heavily recommended by platform algorithms.
- Add additional restrictions on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to possess software designed to create non-consensual nude images.
- Establish a new, independent regulatory body to perform inspections on pornography sites and act on reports of illegal content.
The advocates argue that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have existed for decades in the physical world finally are extended to the digital age.
