British Pornography Site Visits Declines After Age Checks, But VPN Use Surges, Reports Regulator
Visitor numbers to adult content sites in the United Kingdom has decreased markedly since the enforcement of mandatory age verification this summer, as reported by the nation's communications watchdog. Concurrently, the adoption of tools designed to bypass these blocks has increased.
Immediate Drop in Visitor Figures Following Rule Implementation
The introduction of age vetting on 25 July led to an immediate decline in visits to popular online adult platforms, such as the leading provider in the UK. Data reveals that visitor numbers to this platform in August were 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million compared to the same period in 2024.
Overall, visitor numbers to the 10 top adult services in the UK have now stabilized at a “lower level” than prior to the end-of-July implementation date. Subsequent data suggests this slump in viewing continued beyond August.
Sharp Increase in VPN Usage to Evade Restrictions
In response to the new regulations, adoption of VPN software—which can bypass geographic restrictions by routing internet traffic via another nation—surged after 25 July.
Usage reached a high at over 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from around 650,000 people before the checks were introduced. Subsequently, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has afterwards fallen back, with latest figures at around 900,000. It added that the volume of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for pornography sites.
Young People Responding to Damaging Material
Elsewhere, the watchdog's report found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing harmful content online. Actions ranged from flagging the material to the site to muting the user who shared it.
This survey was carried out prior to new rules came into force that require platforms to prevent children from seeing harmful content, such as material related to suicide and pornography. The primary way teenagers came across such content was by looking through a social media feed, suggesting that algorithms were showing harmful material.
Ministers Announce Review of Pornography Laws
In a related development, the ministers announced it would review the criminal law governing pornography to consider whether it is effective in the ever-developing online world.
“The review will investigate the effectiveness of the current law in relation to criminalising, for example, harmful depictions of incest and any forms of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” said a government official.
Advocates Call For Stricter Digital Controls
Advocates for tighter regulation of online pornography have urged the authorities to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring incest scenes or that encourages abuse by using youthful adults portraying children.
Suggested amendments to legislation seek to:
- Prohibit pornography where performers are impersonating children, often filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the crime of making an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an adult plays the role of a child.
- Introduce tighter regulation on familial abuse pornography, which research indicates is often promoted by site algorithms.
- Introduce further controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to own tools designed to create non-consensual nude images.
- Establish a new, independent regulatory body to perform inspections on adult platforms and act on complaints of illegal content.
The advocates contend that these measures would ensure the protections that have been enforced for decades offline finally are extended to the online sphere.
