British Pornography Site Visits Declines Following Identity Checks, But Virtual Private Network Use Spikes, Reports Watchdog
Visitor numbers to adult content sites in the United Kingdom has seen a notable drop after the enforcement of age-checking measures earlier this year, according to the country's communications regulator. Concurrently, the adoption of tools designed to bypass these blocks has increased.
Immediate Fall in Visitor Figures After Rule Enforcement
The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July led to an immediate decline in traffic to leading online adult platforms, such as the most visited site in the UK. Figures indicates that user traffic to this platform in August reached 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.
Overall, traffic to the 10 top pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a “lower level” than prior to the end-of-July deadline. Later data suggests this slump in viewing persisted beyond August.
Surge in VPN Adoption to Bypass Checks
In response to the new rules, use of VPN software—which can bypass location-based restrictions by masking internet traffic through another country—surged after 25 July.
User numbers peaked at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from around 650,000 people before the checks were introduced. Subsequently, the regulator stated that VPN usage has afterwards steadily declined, with latest numbers at around 900,000. It clarified that the level of daily VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for pornography services.
Young People Taking Action to Damaging Material
In other findings, the watchdog's report found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing harmful content online. Steps taken included flagging the material to the platform to blocking the user who posted it.
This research was conducted before new regulations came into force that require platforms to prevent children from seeing harmful content, such as material related to self-harm and adult material. The primary way young people encountered such content was by scrolling through a social media feed, suggesting that algorithms were serving harmful material.
Ministers Announce Review of Adult Content Legislation
In a related development, the government announced it would review the criminal law relating to pornography to consider whether it is effective in the ever-developing online world.
“The examination will investigate the efficacy of the current law in regarding making illegal, among other things, damaging depictions of familial abuse and any types of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” stated a justice minister.
Advocates Push For Stricter Online Regulations
Advocates for better regulation of online pornography have urged the government to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote child sexual abuse by casting young-looking performers portraying children.
Proposed changes to legislation aim to:
- Ban pornography where adults are mimicking 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 adult acts the part of a child.
- Introduce tighter controls on incest-themed pornography, which research suggests is often promoted by site systems.
- Add further controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to possess tools designed to create non-consensual nude images.
- Create a new, separate regulatory body to perform spot checks on adult platforms and respond to complaints of unlawful content.
The campaigners argue that these measures would ensure the protections that have been enforced for decades in the physical world finally apply to the digital age.
