UK Pornography Site Visits Declines After Identity Verifications, But VPN Use Surges, Reports Watchdog
Visitor numbers to adult content sites in the UK has fallen significantly after the enforcement of mandatory age verification this summer, according to the nation's communications watchdog. At the same time, the adoption of specialist software designed to circumvent these restrictions has surged.
Immediate Fall in User Figures After Law Enforcement
The introduction of age verification on 25 July caused an immediate reduction in visits to major pornography sites, including the leading site in the UK. Figures shows that user traffic to this platform in August stood at 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.
In total, traffic to the ten top pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a “lower level” than before the end-of-July deadline. Later data suggests this downward trend in site visits continued past August.
Surge in VPN Adoption to Bypass Restrictions
In response to the new rules, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can circumvent geographic restrictions by masking connections via another country—more than doubled following 25 July.
User numbers peaked at more than 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from around 650,000 people prior to the checks were introduced. Subsequently, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has afterwards fallen back, with latest figures standing at around 900,000. It added that the volume of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for adult sites.
Teenagers Taking Action to Damaging Online Content
Elsewhere, the regulator's report revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering harmful content on the internet. Steps taken ranged from reporting the content to the site to blocking the person who posted it.
This research was carried out before new rules came into force that require social media companies to stop children from accessing harmful content, such as material related to suicide and adult material. The most common way young people came across such content was by scrolling through a platform timeline, suggesting that algorithms were serving harmful material.
Ministers Announce Examination of Adult Content Laws
In a related development, the ministers stated it would review the criminal law relating to pornography to consider whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern digital age.
“The examination will investigate the effectiveness of the current law in regarding criminalising, among other things, harmful portrayals of familial abuse and any types of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” stated a justice minister.
Campaigners Call For Stricter Online Regulations
Campaigners for tighter control of online pornography have urged the authorities to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring incest scenes or that encourages child sexual abuse by casting young-looking adults portraying children.
Proposed changes to legislation seek to:
- Prohibit pornography where performers are impersonating children, often filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the crime of making an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an adult plays the role of a child.
- Introduce stricter regulation on familial abuse pornography, which studies suggests is heavily recommended by site systems.
- Add further restrictions on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to possess tools designed to generate non-consensual nude images.
- Establish a new, independent oversight agency to conduct inspections on pornography sites and respond to complaints of illegal content.
The campaigners argue that these measures would ensure the protections that have existed for decades offline finally are extended to the digital age.
