British Pornography Site Visits Declines After Identity Checks, But Virtual Private Network Usage Spikes, Reports Regulator
Access to pornography platforms in the United Kingdom has fallen significantly since the introduction of mandatory age verification this summer, as reported by the country's communications watchdog. Simultaneously, the use of specialist software designed to dodge these barriers has surged.
Immediate Drop in User Numbers Following Law Enforcement
The enforcement of age verification on 25 July led to an immediate reduction in traffic to major pornography sites, including the leading 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 equivalent month in 2024.
Overall, traffic to the 10 most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a markedly decreased volume than before the end-of-July deadline. Later analysis indicates this slump in viewing continued beyond August.
Surge in Virtual Private Network Usage to Bypass Restrictions
Reacting to the new regulations, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can get around location-based blocks by routing connections via another country—increased dramatically after 25 July.
User numbers reached a high at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from approximately 650,000 users prior to the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has afterwards decreased, with latest numbers standing at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the volume of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for adult sites.
Teenagers Responding to Damaging Online Content
Elsewhere, the watchdog's report found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering damaging content online. Actions included flagging the material to the site to muting the user who posted it.
This research was conducted prior to new regulations came into force that require platforms to prevent children from seeing harmful content, including material related to suicide and adult material. The primary way young people encountered such content was by scrolling through a social media timeline, indicating that algorithms were showing harmful material.
Ministers Announce Review of Adult Content Legislation
In a related development, the ministers announced it would examine the legislation relating to pornography to consider whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern digital age.
“The review will look into the effectiveness of the current law in regarding criminalising, for example, harmful depictions of incest and any forms of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” stated a government official.
Campaigners Call For Tighter Digital Controls
Advocates for better control of online pornography have called on the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote child sexual abuse by using young-looking performers dressed as children.
Suggested changes to legislation aim to:
- Prohibit pornography where performers are impersonating children, sometimes filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the crime of making an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an adult plays the role of a child.
- Introduce stricter regulation on familial abuse pornography, which studies indicates is often promoted by platform algorithms.
- Add additional restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to possess software designed to create non-consensual nude images.
- Create a new, separate oversight agency to conduct spot checks on adult platforms and respond to reports of illegal content.
The campaigners argue that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for decades in the physical world finally are extended to the digital age.
