British Pornography Site Visits Declines After Age Verifications, Yet Virtual Private Network Use Spikes, States Regulator
Traffic to pornography sites in the United Kingdom has seen a notable drop after the enforcement of mandatory age verification earlier this year, according to the nation's communications regulator. At the same time, the use of tools designed to bypass these restrictions has increased.
Immediate Fall in User Numbers After Rule Implementation
The enforcement of age verification on 25 July caused an prompt fall in visits to popular online adult platforms, such as the leading provider in the UK. Figures reveals that user traffic 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 ten most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a “lower level” than prior to the late July deadline. Subsequent analysis shows this decline in viewing continued beyond August.
Surge in Virtual Private Network Usage to Evade Restrictions
Reacting to the new regulations, adoption of VPN software—which can bypass geographic restrictions by masking internet traffic through another country—increased dramatically following 25 July.
Usage peaked at more than 1.4 million in mid-August, up from around 650,000 users prior to the verification began. Subsequently, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has afterwards decreased, with latest numbers standing at approximately 900,000. It added that the volume of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for pornography sites.
Young People Taking Action to Harmful Material
Elsewhere, the regulator's annual study revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing distressing content online. Actions included reporting the content to the platform to muting the user who posted it.
This research was conducted before new rules took effect that compel platforms to prevent children from seeing harmful content, including material related to self-harm and adult material. The primary way teenagers encountered such content was by looking through a platform timeline, indicating that algorithms were serving harmful material.
Government Announce Examination of Pornography Legislation
Separately, the ministers stated it would review the legislation governing pornography to consider whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern online world.
“The review will look into the effectiveness of the existing law in regarding making illegal, for example, damaging depictions of incest and any types of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” stated a government official.
Campaigners Push For Tighter Online Regulations
Advocates for tighter regulation of online pornography have called on the government to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages abuse by using young-looking adults portraying children.
Suggested amendments to legislation seek to:
- Prohibit pornography where performers are impersonating children, sometimes recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the offence of creating an indecent image of a child to include material where an adult plays the role of a child.
- Introduce stricter regulation on familial abuse pornography, which research suggests is heavily recommended by platform systems.
- Add additional restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to possess tools designed to create non-consensual nude images.
- Establish a new, separate regulatory body to conduct spot checks on pornography sites and act on complaints of unlawful content.
The campaigners argue that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have existed for decades offline finally are extended to the digital age.
