British Pornography Site Visits Falls After Identity Verifications, But Virtual Private Network Usage Surges, Reports Watchdog
Traffic to pornography websites in the UK has decreased markedly after the enforcement of mandatory age verification earlier this year, according to the nation's communications authority. Concurrently, the adoption of specialist software designed to bypass these blocks has risen.
Sharp Drop in User Figures After Law Implementation
The enforcement of age verification on 25 July led to an swift reduction in visits to major online adult platforms, such as the top site in the UK. Data shows that user traffic to this site in August were 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024.
In total, visitor numbers to the ten top adult services in the UK have now settled at a significantly reduced level than prior to the end-of-July implementation date. Subsequent data suggests this slump in viewing continued past August.
Sharp Increase in VPN Adoption to Evade Restrictions
In response to the new regulations, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can circumvent location-based restrictions by masking connections via another country—increased dramatically following 25 July.
User numbers peaked at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from around 650,000 people before the checks were introduced. However, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has since steadily declined, with current numbers standing at around 900,000. It added that the volume of regular VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for adult services.
Teenagers Taking Action to Harmful Material
Elsewhere, the watchdog's annual study revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing harmful content online. Steps taken included reporting the material to the platform to blocking the person who shared it.
This survey was carried out before new regulations took effect that require platforms to stop children from accessing harmful content, including material related to suicide and adult material. The primary way young people came across such content was by looking through a platform timeline, indicating that algorithms were showing inappropriate material.
Ministers Launch Review of Adult Content Legislation
In a related development, the ministers stated it would review the criminal law governing pornography to consider whether it is adequate in the modern online world.
“The review will look into the effectiveness of the current law in relation to criminalising, among other things, damaging depictions of incest and any forms of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” stated a government official.
Advocates Push 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 adults dressed as children.
Proposed amendments to government bills aim to:
- Ban pornography where performers are impersonating children, sometimes filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the offence of making an indecent image of a child to include material where an older performer plays the role of a child.
- Introduce tighter regulation on familial abuse pornography, which studies indicates is often promoted by site algorithms.
- Add additional controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to possess software designed to create private images without permission.
- Create a new, separate regulatory body to conduct inspections on pornography sites and respond to reports of unlawful content.
The advocates argue that these steps would ensure the protections that have existed for decades in the physical world finally apply to the online sphere.
