UK Adult Content Site Visits Falls After Identity Checks, Yet Virtual Private Network Usage Surges, Reports Regulator
Visitor numbers to pornography websites in the United Kingdom has fallen significantly since the enforcement of age-checking measures this summer, according to the nation's communications authority. Concurrently, the use of specialist software designed to bypass these barriers has surged.
Immediate Fall in User Figures After Law Enforcement
The enforcement of age verification on 25 July caused an prompt fall in visits to leading pornography sites, such as the leading site in the UK. Data reveals that visitor numbers to this site in August reached 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million compared to the same period in 2024.
In total, visitor numbers to the ten top adult services in the UK have now stabilized at a “lower level” than before the end-of-July deadline. Subsequent analysis indicates this decline in viewing persisted past August.
Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Bypass Restrictions
Reacting to the new regulations, adoption of VPN software—which can circumvent geographic blocks by routing internet traffic through another nation—increased dramatically following 25 July.
User numbers peaked at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from around 650,000 users prior to the checks began. Subsequently, the regulator noted that VPN usage has since fallen back, with current numbers at around 900,000. It clarified that the level of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for pornography services.
Teenagers Taking Action to Harmful Material
Elsewhere, the regulator's report revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering harmful content on the internet. Steps taken ranged from reporting the content to the platform to blocking the user who shared it.
This survey was conducted prior to new regulations came into force that require social media companies to prevent children from seeing dangerous content, such as material related to suicide and pornography. The primary way young people encountered such content was by looking through a platform timeline, suggesting that algorithms were serving harmful material.
Ministers Launch Review of Adult Content Legislation
Separately, the government stated it would review the legislation governing pornography to consider whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern online world.
“The review will investigate the effectiveness of the existing law in relation to criminalising, among other things, damaging portrayals of incest and any forms of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” stated a justice minister.
Advocates Call For Stricter Digital Controls
Advocates for tighter regulation of online pornography have urged the authorities to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote abuse by using young-looking performers portraying children.
Suggested amendments to government bills seek to:
- Ban pornography where performers are impersonating children, often filmed in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the offence of creating an indecent image of a child to include material where an adult acts the part of a child.
- Apply tighter controls on familial abuse pornography, which studies indicates is heavily recommended by platform algorithms.
- Introduce further restrictions on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to possess tools designed to create private images without permission.
- Create a new, separate oversight agency to perform spot checks on pornography sites and respond to reports of unlawful content.
The campaigners argue that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for years in the physical world finally apply to the online sphere.
