British Pornography Site Visits Declines Following Identity Verifications, But VPN Use Surges, States Watchdog
Visitor numbers to adult content platforms in the UK has decreased markedly since the enforcement of age-checking measures earlier this year, according to the country's communications watchdog. Simultaneously, the usage of specialist software designed to circumvent these barriers has surged.
Immediate Drop in Visitor Figures Following Law Enforcement
The introduction of age vetting on 25 July resulted in an immediate decline in visits to leading online adult platforms, such as the top provider in the UK. Data shows that user traffic to this site in August stood at 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million compared to the same period in 2024.
In total, visitor numbers to the 10 top adult services in the UK have now stabilized at a significantly reduced level than before the end-of-July deadline. Subsequent analysis shows this decline in site visits continued past August.
Surge in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Bypass Restrictions
Reacting to the new rules, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can circumvent location-based blocks by routing connections through another country—increased dramatically following 25 July.
User numbers peaked at more than 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from around 650,000 users before the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the regulator noted that VPN usage has since decreased, with current numbers at around 900,000. It added that the volume of daily VPN use is “much lower” than user numbers for adult services.
Teenagers Taking Action to Damaging Online Content
In other findings, the regulator's annual study found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering harmful content on the internet. Actions included reporting the material to the site to muting the person who posted it.
This research was conducted before new regulations took effect that compel social media companies to stop children from accessing dangerous content, including material related to self-harm and adult material. The most common way teenagers encountered such content was by looking through a social media timeline, indicating that algorithms were serving inappropriate material.
Ministers Launch Examination of Pornography Laws
In a related development, the ministers announced it would examine the legislation governing pornography to assess whether it is effective in the ever-developing digital age.
“The review will investigate the effectiveness of the existing law in regarding criminalising, among other things, harmful portrayals of familial abuse and any forms of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” said a justice minister.
Advocates Push For Stricter Digital Controls
Advocates for better regulation of adult content have called on the government to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote abuse by using youthful performers dressed as children.
Suggested changes to legislation aim to:
- Ban pornography where performers are impersonating children, sometimes recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the crime of making an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an older performer acts the part of a child.
- Introduce tighter controls on incest-themed pornography, which studies suggests is often promoted by platform algorithms.
- Introduce further restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to own tools designed to generate non-consensual nude images.
- Create a new, separate regulatory body to perform inspections on adult platforms and respond to reports of illegal content.
The campaigners argue that these steps would ensure the protections that have existed for years in the physical world finally apply to the digital age.
