UK Pornography Site Visits Declines After Age Checks, Yet Virtual Private Network Use Spikes, Reports Regulator
Access to adult content platforms in the United Kingdom has fallen significantly since the introduction of mandatory age verification earlier this year, according to the nation's communications regulator. At the same time, the use of tools designed to dodge these restrictions has surged.
Sharp Fall in Visitor Figures After Law Enforcement
The enforcement of age verification on 25 July led to an prompt reduction in visits to popular online adult platforms, including the leading provider in the UK. Data indicates that user traffic to this site in August were 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.
In total, traffic to the 10 most-visited adult services in the UK have now stabilized at a markedly decreased volume than before the end-of-July implementation date. Later data indicates this decline in viewing persisted past August.
Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Usage to Evade Restrictions
Reacting to the new regulations, adoption of VPN software—which can get around location-based restrictions by masking connections through another country—surged after 25 July.
User numbers reached a high at over 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from around 650,000 users prior to the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has afterwards fallen back, with current figures at approximately 900,000. It added that the level of daily VPN use is “much lower” than user numbers for adult sites.
Young People Responding to Damaging Online Content
Elsewhere, the regulator's annual study found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering harmful content online. Actions ranged from flagging the content to the site to muting the user who shared it.
This survey was carried out before new regulations took effect that compel social media companies to prevent children from accessing harmful content, including material related to self-harm and pornography. The primary way teenagers came across such content was by looking through a social media feed, suggesting that algorithms were showing inappropriate material.
Ministers Launch Review of Pornography Laws
Separately, the ministers announced it would examine the legislation governing pornography to assess whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern online world.
“The examination will investigate the effectiveness of the current law in relation to making illegal, for example, 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 tighter control of online pornography have urged the authorities to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote child sexual abuse by casting youthful performers dressed as children.
Suggested amendments to legislation aim to:
- Prohibit pornography where performers are impersonating children, often filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the crime of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an adult plays the role of a child.
- Introduce tighter controls on familial abuse pornography, which research suggests is heavily recommended by site algorithms.
- Introduce further restrictions on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to own tools designed to generate non-consensual nude images.
- Create a new, separate oversight agency to perform inspections on adult platforms and act on complaints of unlawful content.
The campaigners contend that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have existed for decades in the physical world finally apply to the digital age.
