UK Pornography Site Visits Declines After Identity Checks, Yet Virtual Private Network Usage Spikes, States Watchdog
Visitor numbers to adult content websites in the United Kingdom has seen a notable drop after the introduction of age-checking measures this summer, according to the nation's communications authority. Concurrently, the use of tools designed to circumvent these barriers has surged.
Immediate Fall in Visitor Figures Following Rule Enforcement
The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July resulted in an immediate decline in traffic to major pornography sites, such as the top provider in the UK. Figures reveals that visitor numbers to this platform in August reached 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million compared to the same period in 2024.
Overall, visitor numbers to the 10 most-visited adult services in the UK have now stabilized at a significantly reduced level than prior to the late July implementation date. Later analysis suggests this downward trend in site visits continued beyond August.
Sharp Increase in VPN Adoption to Bypass Restrictions
Reacting to the new rules, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can circumvent geographic blocks by routing internet traffic via another country—surged after 25 July.
User numbers peaked at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from approximately 650,000 users before the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has since decreased, with latest figures standing at approximately 900,000. It added that the volume of daily 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 damaging content on the internet. Actions ranged from reporting the material to the platform to blocking the person who posted it.
This research was carried out before new regulations took effect that compel social media companies to prevent children from accessing dangerous content, including material related to self-harm and adult material. The primary way teenagers came across such content was by looking through a platform feed, suggesting that algorithms were showing inappropriate material.
Government Launch Review of Pornography Legislation
Separately, the ministers announced it would examine the criminal law governing pornography to consider whether it is adequate in the modern digital age.
“The review will investigate the effectiveness of the existing law in relation to criminalising, among other things, harmful portrayals of familial abuse and any forms of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” said a justice minister.
Campaigners Push For Tighter Digital Regulations
Advocates for better control of adult content have urged the authorities to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote abuse by using youthful performers portraying children.
Suggested changes to legislation seek to:
- Ban pornography where adults are mimicking children, sometimes filmed in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the offence of making an indecent image of a child to include material where an adult acts the part of a child.
- Apply stricter controls on familial abuse pornography, which studies indicates is heavily recommended by site systems.
- Add further restrictions on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to possess software designed to generate private images without permission.
- Establish a new, independent regulatory body to perform spot checks on adult platforms and respond to reports of illegal content.
The advocates contend that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have existed for years offline finally are extended to the online sphere.
