British Pornography Site Visits Declines After Identity Verifications, Yet Virtual Private Network Usage Spikes, Reports Regulator
Visitor numbers to pornography platforms in the United Kingdom has seen a notable drop since the roll-out of mandatory age verification this summer, according to the country's communications watchdog. Simultaneously, the adoption of specialist software designed to dodge these blocks has surged.
Sharp Drop in User Figures After Law Implementation
The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July resulted in an prompt decline in traffic to major pornography sites, such as the leading provider in the UK. Data reveals that user traffic to this site in August were 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million compared to the equivalent month in 2024.
Overall, traffic to the ten most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a markedly decreased volume than prior to the end-of-July deadline. Subsequent analysis suggests this downward trend in site visits persisted beyond August.
Sharp Increase in VPN Usage to Evade Restrictions
In response to the new regulations, use of VPN software—which can get around location-based restrictions by masking internet traffic through another nation—increased dramatically following 25 July.
Usage reached a high at over 1.4 million in mid-August, up from approximately 650,000 users before the checks began. However, the regulator noted that VPN usage has afterwards fallen back, with latest figures at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the level of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for pornography sites.
Young People Taking Action to Damaging Online Content
In other findings, the regulator's report revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing harmful content online. Actions ranged from reporting the content to the platform to muting the person who shared it.
This survey was carried out prior to new rules came into force that compel social media companies to stop children from accessing dangerous content, such as material related to self-harm and adult material. The primary way teenagers came across such content was by looking through a platform feed, suggesting that algorithms were serving inappropriate material.
Government Launch Review of Pornography Legislation
In a related development, the government announced it would review the criminal law governing pornography to consider whether it is “fit for purpose” in the ever-developing online world.
“The examination will look into the effectiveness of the existing law in relation to making illegal, among other things, damaging depictions of incest and any types of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” said a government official.
Campaigners Push For Stricter Digital Controls
Advocates for better regulation of online pornography have called on the government to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote child sexual abuse by casting youthful adults dressed as children.
Proposed changes to government bills aim to:
- Ban pornography where adults are impersonating children, often recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the crime of creating an indecent image of a child to include material where an adult plays the role of a child.
- Apply tighter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which research indicates is heavily recommended by site systems.
- Add further controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to own software designed to create private images without permission.
- Create a new, independent regulatory body to perform inspections on adult platforms and act on reports of unlawful content.
The campaigners argue that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have existed for years in the physical world finally are extended to the online sphere.
