UK Pornography Site Visits Falls After Age Checks, Yet Virtual Private Network Usage Spikes, Reports Watchdog
Visitor numbers to adult content platforms in the UK has fallen significantly since the roll-out of mandatory age verification this summer, as reported by the nation's communications authority. Concurrently, the use of tools designed to circumvent these blocks has risen.
Immediate Fall in Visitor Figures After Law Implementation
The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July resulted in an swift fall in traffic to major online adult platforms, including the top provider in the UK. Data shows that user traffic to this platform in August reached 9.8 million, a decline 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 deadline. Later analysis indicates this slump in site visits continued past August.
Surge in VPN Usage to Evade Restrictions
In response to the new rules, use of VPN software—which can get around geographic blocks by masking connections through another nation—increased dramatically following 25 July.
User numbers reached a high at over 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from around 650,000 people before the verification began. However, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has since fallen back, with latest figures standing at approximately 900,000. It added that the volume of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for adult services.
Young People Taking Action to Damaging Material
Elsewhere, the watchdog's annual study revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering distressing content online. Actions included reporting the content to the site to muting the person who shared it.
This survey was conducted before new regulations took effect that require platforms to prevent children from accessing dangerous content, such as material related to self-harm and adult material. The primary way teenagers encountered such content was by scrolling through a platform feed, suggesting that recommendation systems were showing harmful material.
Government Launch Examination of Pornography Legislation
Separately, the ministers stated it would review the criminal law governing pornography to assess whether it is effective in the ever-developing digital age.
“The review will investigate the efficacy of the existing law in regarding criminalising, for example, harmful portrayals of familial abuse and any types of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” said a justice minister.
Advocates Push For Stricter Online Regulations
Advocates for better control of adult content have called on the authorities to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring incest scenes or that encourages abuse by casting young-looking performers portraying children.
Suggested amendments to government bills aim to:
- Prohibit pornography where adults are mimicking children, often filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the crime of creating an indecent image of a child to cover material where an older performer acts the part of a child.
- Apply stricter controls on incest-themed pornography, which studies indicates is heavily recommended by site systems.
- Add further controls on “nudification” technology, 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 act on complaints of unlawful content.
The campaigners contend that these measures would ensure the protections that have existed for decades offline finally apply to the digital age.
