British Pornography Site Visits Falls Following Identity Checks, Yet VPN Use Surges, States Watchdog
Traffic to pornography websites in the United Kingdom has decreased markedly after the introduction of age-checking measures this summer, as reported by the nation's communications authority. At the same time, the use of tools designed to circumvent these blocks has risen.
Immediate Drop in User Numbers Following Law Enforcement
The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July caused an immediate reduction in traffic to leading online adult platforms, such as the most visited provider 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 same period in 2024.
In total, traffic to the 10 top pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a significantly reduced level than prior to the late July deadline. Later data indicates this downward trend in site visits persisted beyond August.
Surge in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Bypass Restrictions
In response to the new rules, use of VPN software—which can circumvent geographic blocks by routing internet traffic via another country—increased dramatically after 25 July.
Usage reached a high at more than 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from approximately 650,000 people before the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the regulator noted that VPN usage has afterwards decreased, with current numbers at around 900,000. It clarified that the volume of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for adult sites.
Teenagers Taking Action to Harmful Material
Elsewhere, the regulator's report found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing harmful content online. Steps taken ranged from reporting the content to the site to muting the person who shared it.
This research was conducted prior to new regulations came into force that compel social media companies to stop children from accessing dangerous content, including material related to suicide and pornography. The primary way young people came across such content was by scrolling through a platform feed, suggesting that algorithms were showing inappropriate material.
Ministers Launch Review of Adult Content Legislation
In a related development, the government stated it would review the legislation relating to pornography to assess whether it is adequate in the modern online world.
“The examination will look into the efficacy of the current law in regarding criminalising, among other things, harmful portrayals of incest and any forms of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” said a government official.
Campaigners Call For Stricter Online Controls
Advocates for better control of online pornography have urged the government to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring incest scenes or that encourages child sexual abuse by casting young-looking performers dressed as children.
Proposed changes to legislation seek to:
- Ban pornography where performers are impersonating children, often filmed in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the crime of creating an indecent image of a child to cover material where an adult plays the role of a child.
- Apply tighter controls on familial abuse pornography, which studies indicates is heavily recommended by site algorithms.
- Introduce additional controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to own software designed to generate non-consensual nude images.
- Create a new, separate oversight agency to conduct inspections on adult platforms and act on complaints of illegal content.
The advocates argue that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for years offline finally are extended to the digital age.
