UK Pornography Site Visits Declines Following Age Checks, Yet VPN Use Spikes, States Watchdog
Access to pornography platforms in the UK has decreased markedly after the enforcement of mandatory age verification earlier this year, as reported by the country's communications watchdog. Concurrently, the use of tools designed to dodge these blocks has risen.
Sharp Drop in User Numbers After Law Enforcement
The enforcement of age verification on 25 July caused an swift fall in visits to popular online adult platforms, including the leading provider in the UK. Data reveals that user traffic to this site in August stood at 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million compared to the same period in 2024.
In total, visitor numbers to the ten most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a “lower level” than before the late July deadline. Subsequent data shows this slump in site visits continued past August.
Sharp Increase in VPN Adoption to Bypass Checks
In response to the new regulations, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can get around geographic blocks by routing internet traffic through another nation—more than doubled after 25 July.
User numbers reached a high at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from around 650,000 people before the verification began. Subsequently, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has afterwards fallen back, with current figures standing at around 900,000. It added that the level of regular VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for adult sites.
Teenagers Taking Action to Damaging Online Content
Elsewhere, the regulator's annual study found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering harmful content on the internet. Actions ranged from reporting the content to the platform to muting the person who shared it.
This research was carried out before new rules came into force that compel social media companies to prevent children from accessing dangerous content, such as material related to suicide and pornography. The primary way teenagers encountered such content was by scrolling through a social media feed, suggesting that algorithms were serving inappropriate material.
Ministers Announce Review of Adult Content Legislation
Separately, the ministers stated it would examine the criminal law governing pornography to assess whether it is adequate in the ever-developing digital age.
“The review will investigate the effectiveness of the existing law in relation to criminalising, for example, damaging depictions of incest and any forms of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” stated a government official.
Campaigners Call For Tighter Online Regulations
Advocates for tighter control of adult content have urged the authorities to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that encourages child sexual abuse by using young-looking performers portraying children.
Proposed changes to legislation seek to:
- Prohibit pornography where adults are mimicking children, often recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the crime of creating an indecent image of a child to include material where an older performer plays the role of a child.
- Introduce tighter controls on familial abuse pornography, which research indicates is often promoted by site systems.
- Add further restrictions on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to possess software designed to create private images without permission.
- Establish a new, separate oversight agency to conduct spot checks on adult platforms and respond to complaints of unlawful content.
The campaigners contend that these measures would ensure the protections that have existed for decades in the physical world finally apply to the digital age.
