UK Pornography Site Visits Declines Following Age Verifications, But Virtual Private Network Use Spikes, States Watchdog
Visitor numbers to pornography sites in the UK has seen a notable drop since the enforcement of mandatory age verification this summer, as reported by the nation's communications authority. Concurrently, the adoption of specialist software designed to dodge these blocks has risen.
Sharp Fall in Visitor Figures Following Rule Implementation
The enforcement of age verification on 25 July led to an swift decline in visits to major online adult platforms, such as the top provider in the UK. Data indicates that user traffic to this platform in August stood at 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024.
In total, traffic to the ten most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a “lower level” than prior to the late July implementation date. Later analysis indicates this decline in site visits persisted past August.
Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Evade Checks
Reacting to the new regulations, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can get around geographic restrictions by masking connections through another country—surged after 25 July.
Usage reached a high at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from around 650,000 users before the verification began. However, the regulator stated that VPN usage has afterwards fallen back, with latest numbers standing at around 900,000. It clarified that the volume of regular VPN use is “much lower” than user numbers for pornography services.
Teenagers Responding to Damaging Material
In other findings, the watchdog's annual study revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing distressing content online. Actions included flagging the content to the site to muting the person who shared it.
This survey was conducted before new rules took effect that compel platforms to stop children from accessing dangerous content, such as material related to self-harm and adult material. The primary way young people came across such content was by scrolling through a social media timeline, suggesting that recommendation systems were showing harmful material.
Government Launch Review of Pornography Legislation
Separately, the ministers stated it would review the criminal law relating to pornography to consider whether it is effective in the modern digital age.
“The review will investigate the efficacy of the existing law in relation to making illegal, for example, damaging portrayals of incest and any types of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” stated a justice minister.
Campaigners Push For Tighter Digital Regulations
Campaigners for tighter regulation of online pornography have called on the authorities to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring incest scenes or that encourages abuse by using youthful adults dressed as children.
Proposed amendments to legislation aim to:
- Ban pornography where adults are impersonating children, often filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the offence of making an indecent image of a child to cover material where an older performer acts the part of a child.
- Introduce stricter controls on incest-themed pornography, which studies suggests is often promoted by platform algorithms.
- Add additional restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to possess tools designed to create non-consensual nude images.
- Create a new, separate oversight agency to perform inspections on adult platforms and act on reports of illegal content.
The campaigners contend that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for decades in the physical world finally apply to the digital age.
