British Pornography Site Visits Falls After Identity Verifications, But Virtual Private Network Usage Surges, Reports Regulator
Access to adult content platforms in the United Kingdom has decreased markedly since the introduction of age-checking measures earlier this year, according to the nation's communications watchdog. At the same time, the use of specialist software designed to circumvent these blocks has risen.
Immediate Drop in User Figures Following Law Implementation
The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July led to an prompt decline in visits to leading pornography sites, such as the leading provider in the UK. Figures shows that visitor numbers to this site in August stood at 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024.
Overall, traffic to the 10 top pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a markedly decreased volume than before the end-of-July deadline. Subsequent analysis indicates this downward trend in site visits persisted beyond August.
Sharp Increase in VPN Adoption to Evade Restrictions
In response to the new rules, use of VPN software—which can get around geographic blocks by routing internet traffic through another nation—increased dramatically following 25 July.
Usage peaked at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from approximately 650,000 people before the verification were introduced. However, the regulator stated that VPN usage has since decreased, with current numbers at approximately 900,000. It added that the level of regular VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for adult services.
Young People Taking Action to Harmful Material
In other findings, the watchdog's annual study found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing distressing content on the internet. Steps taken included reporting the material to the platform to blocking the person who posted it.
This research was carried out before new rules took effect that require platforms to prevent children from seeing dangerous content, such as material related to suicide and adult material. The primary way teenagers encountered such content was by looking through a platform timeline, indicating that recommendation systems were showing inappropriate material.
Government Announce Examination of Pornography Laws
In a related development, the government stated it would examine the legislation governing pornography to consider whether it is effective in the ever-developing digital age.
“The examination will investigate the efficacy of the current law in relation to making illegal, among other things, damaging portrayals of incest and any forms of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” said a justice minister.
Campaigners Call For Tighter Digital Controls
Advocates for better regulation of adult content have called on the government to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages abuse by casting youthful adults dressed as children.
Proposed amendments to government bills seek to:
- Prohibit pornography where adults are mimicking children, sometimes filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the offence of making an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an older performer plays the role of a child.
- Apply stricter controls on incest-themed pornography, which research suggests is often promoted by platform systems.
- Introduce additional controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to possess software designed to create private images without permission.
- Establish a new, independent regulatory body to perform inspections 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 years in the physical world finally apply to the online sphere.
