UK Pornography Site Visits Falls After Age Verifications, Yet Virtual Private Network Usage Spikes, Reports Watchdog
Access to adult content websites in the UK has seen a notable drop after the introduction of age-checking measures earlier this year, as reported by the nation's communications authority. At the same time, the use of tools designed to circumvent these blocks has increased.
Immediate Drop in User Figures Following Law Enforcement
The introduction of age verification on 25 July caused an prompt fall in visits to major pornography sites, including the leading provider in the UK. Figures reveals that visitor numbers to this site in August stood at 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million compared to the same period in 2024.
In total, traffic to the 10 most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a significantly reduced level than prior to the end-of-July implementation date. Later analysis shows this downward trend in site visits persisted beyond August.
Surge in VPN Usage to Bypass Restrictions
In response to the new regulations, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can bypass geographic blocks by masking connections 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 people before the checks began. However, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has afterwards steadily declined, with current numbers standing at around 900,000. It added that the volume of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for pornography services.
Teenagers Responding to Harmful Material
In other findings, the regulator's report revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing distressing content online. Actions included reporting the material to the platform to muting the user who shared it.
This research was carried out prior to new rules took effect that require social media companies to stop children from accessing harmful content, such as material related to self-harm and adult material. The most common way young people came across such content was by scrolling through a platform feed, indicating that algorithms were serving harmful material.
Ministers Launch Review of Adult Content Laws
Separately, the ministers announced it would review the criminal law relating to pornography to assess whether it is effective in the modern digital age.
“The examination will look into the effectiveness of the existing law in regarding making illegal, for example, harmful portrayals of incest and any types of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” said a justice minister.
Advocates Push For Tighter Online Controls
Campaigners for tighter regulation of online pornography have urged the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote child sexual abuse by casting young-looking adults dressed as children.
Proposed amendments to legislation aim to:
- Prohibit pornography where performers are impersonating children, often filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the crime of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an adult plays the role of a child.
- Introduce stricter regulation on familial abuse pornography, which studies indicates is heavily recommended by platform algorithms.
- Introduce additional controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to possess software designed to generate private images without permission.
- Create a new, independent oversight agency to conduct inspections on pornography sites and act on reports of unlawful content.
The advocates contend that these steps would ensure the protections that have been enforced for years offline finally apply to the online sphere.
