UK Pornography Site Visits Falls After Age Verifications, But Virtual Private Network Use Surges, States Watchdog
Traffic to adult content sites in the United Kingdom has fallen significantly after the roll-out of mandatory age verification earlier this year, according to the nation's communications authority. Concurrently, the adoption of tools designed to bypass these blocks has increased.
Immediate Drop in User Numbers Following Law Enforcement
The introduction of age verification on 25 July led to an swift reduction in visits to popular pornography sites, including the leading provider in the UK. Data shows that visitor numbers to this platform in August were 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.
In total, visitor numbers to the 10 top adult services in the UK have now stabilized at a “lower level” than before the late July implementation date. Subsequent data suggests this slump in site visits continued beyond August.
Surge in VPN Usage to Evade Restrictions
In response to the new regulations, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can get around location-based blocks by masking internet traffic via another country—surged after 25 July.
User numbers reached a high at more than 1.4 million in mid-August, up from around 650,000 users prior to the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the regulator stated that VPN usage has since steadily declined, with latest numbers standing at around 900,000. It clarified that the level of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for adult sites.
Teenagers Responding to Harmful Material
In other findings, the watchdog's annual study revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing damaging content online. Steps taken included flagging the material to the site to blocking the user who posted it.
This research was conducted prior to new rules took effect that compel social media companies to stop children from seeing harmful content, including material related to suicide and adult material. The most common way teenagers came across such content was by scrolling through a social media feed, suggesting that algorithms were showing inappropriate material.
Government Launch Review of Adult Content Legislation
Separately, the ministers stated it would review the criminal law relating to pornography to assess whether it is “fit for purpose” in the ever-developing digital age.
“The examination will look into the efficacy of the existing law in relation to criminalising, for example, damaging depictions of familial abuse and any forms of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” stated a justice minister.
Advocates Push For Stricter Digital Controls
Campaigners for better regulation of online pornography have urged the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote child sexual abuse by casting youthful adults portraying children.
Proposed amendments to government bills aim to:
- Prohibit pornography where adults are mimicking children, often recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the crime of making an indecent image of a child to include material where an adult acts the part of a child.
- Apply stricter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which studies indicates is heavily recommended by platform algorithms.
- Introduce further restrictions on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to own tools designed to generate non-consensual nude images.
- Establish a new, independent oversight agency to conduct spot checks on pornography sites and respond to complaints of unlawful content.
The advocates contend that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for years in the physical world finally apply to the online sphere.
