British Pornography Site Visits Falls After Age Checks, Yet VPN Usage Spikes, Reports Regulator
Visitor numbers to adult content websites in the United Kingdom has decreased markedly since the introduction of age-checking measures earlier this year, according to the country's communications watchdog. Simultaneously, the adoption of specialist software designed to dodge these barriers has risen.
Immediate Drop in User Figures After Rule Enforcement
The enforcement of age verification on 25 July resulted in an prompt decline in traffic to major online adult platforms, such as the top provider in the UK. Data reveals that visitor numbers to this platform in August stood at 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.
Overall, visitor numbers to the 10 most-visited adult services in the UK have now stabilized at a markedly decreased volume than before the late July deadline. Subsequent data shows this decline in site visits continued past August.
Surge in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Evade Checks
Reacting to the new regulations, adoption of VPN software—which can circumvent location-based blocks by routing internet traffic via another nation—increased dramatically following 25 July.
Usage reached a high at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from around 650,000 users prior to the checks began. However, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has since decreased, with latest numbers standing at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the level of daily VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for pornography sites.
Young People Taking Action to Harmful Online Content
In other findings, the regulator's annual study revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering distressing content on the internet. Steps taken included flagging the material to the platform to muting the person who posted it.
This survey was carried out before new rules came into force that compel social media companies to prevent children from seeing harmful content, such as material related to self-harm and pornography. The primary way teenagers came across such content was by looking through a platform feed, suggesting that recommendation systems were serving inappropriate material.
Government Announce Review of Adult Content Legislation
Separately, the ministers stated it would review the legislation governing pornography to consider whether it is adequate in the modern digital age.
“The review will investigate the effectiveness of the existing law in regarding making illegal, for example, damaging portrayals of familial abuse and any forms of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” said a government official.
Campaigners Push For Tighter Digital Regulations
Advocates for tighter control of online pornography have called on the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages child sexual abuse by casting young-looking adults portraying children.
Suggested amendments to government bills seek to:
- Ban pornography where performers are mimicking children, often filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the offence of making an indecent image 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 systems.
- Introduce additional controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to own tools designed to generate private images without permission.
- Establish a new, independent regulatory body to conduct inspections on adult platforms and act on reports of illegal content.
The campaigners argue that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for decades offline finally are extended to the online sphere.
