British Pornography Site Visits Declines Following Identity Verifications, But VPN Usage Spikes, Reports Watchdog
Access to pornography sites in the United Kingdom has fallen significantly since the introduction of age-checking measures earlier this year, according to the nation's communications regulator. At the same time, the adoption of tools designed to circumvent these restrictions has surged.
Immediate Fall in Visitor Numbers After Law Enforcement
The introduction of age vetting on 25 July led to an immediate fall in traffic to major pornography sites, such as the top provider in the UK. Data indicates that user traffic to this site in August were 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million compared to the same period in 2024.
Overall, traffic to the ten top pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a markedly decreased volume than prior to the late July deadline. Subsequent data indicates this decline in site visits persisted past August.
Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Evade Restrictions
Reacting to the new rules, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can get around location-based restrictions by routing connections via another country—surged after 25 July.
User numbers reached a high at over 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from approximately 650,000 people prior to the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the regulator stated that VPN usage has since decreased, with current figures standing at around 900,000. It added that the level of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for pornography services.
Teenagers Responding to Damaging Online Content
In other findings, the watchdog's annual study revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering harmful content online. Actions included flagging the material to the site to blocking the user who posted it.
This survey was carried out prior to new regulations came into force that compel platforms to prevent children from seeing harmful content, including material related to self-harm and adult material. The primary way young people encountered such content was by looking through a platform feed, suggesting that recommendation systems were showing harmful material.
Government Announce Examination of Pornography Legislation
In a related development, the government stated it would review the legislation governing pornography to consider whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern online world.
“The examination will look into the effectiveness of the existing law in relation to making illegal, among other things, harmful depictions of familial abuse and any forms of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” stated a justice minister.
Campaigners Push For Tighter Online Regulations
Advocates for better control of adult content have called on the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages abuse by using youthful performers dressed as children.
Suggested amendments to legislation aim to:
- Ban pornography where adults are impersonating children, often recorded in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the offence of creating an indecent image of a child to cover material where an older performer acts the part of a child.
- Introduce stricter regulation on familial abuse pornography, which studies indicates is heavily recommended by site algorithms.
- Introduce further controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to possess tools designed to generate private images without permission.
- Create a new, independent regulatory body to conduct spot checks on pornography sites and respond to complaints of unlawful content.
The campaigners argue that these measures would ensure the protections that have existed for years offline finally are extended to the online sphere.
