UK Pornography Site Visits Declines Following Age Checks, But Virtual Private Network Use Spikes, Reports Regulator
Access to adult content platforms in the United Kingdom has fallen significantly since the roll-out of age-checking measures earlier this year, according to the country's communications regulator. Simultaneously, the use of tools designed to circumvent these blocks has risen.
Sharp Drop in Visitor Figures After Rule Implementation
The introduction of age vetting on 25 July resulted in an immediate reduction in visits to leading pornography sites, such as the leading site in the UK. Figures shows that user traffic to this platform in August were 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million compared to the equivalent month in 2024.
In total, visitor numbers to the 10 top pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a significantly reduced level than before the late July implementation date. Later analysis suggests this slump in viewing persisted beyond August.
Surge in VPN Adoption to Evade Checks
Reacting to the new regulations, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can get around geographic restrictions by masking internet traffic through another nation—more than doubled after 25 July.
Usage peaked at over 1.4 million in mid-August, up from around 650,000 people before the checks began. However, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has afterwards steadily declined, with latest figures at around 900,000. It added that the volume of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for adult services.
Young People Taking Action to Damaging Online Content
Elsewhere, the regulator's annual study found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing harmful content on the internet. Actions ranged from flagging the material to the site to muting the person who shared it.
This survey was conducted prior to new regulations came into force that require platforms to prevent children from accessing harmful content, including material related to suicide and adult material. The primary way young people encountered such content was by scrolling through a platform feed, indicating that recommendation systems were serving harmful material.
Government Launch Examination of Pornography Legislation
Separately, the government stated it would review the legislation governing pornography to assess whether it is “fit for purpose” in the ever-developing digital age.
“The examination will investigate the effectiveness of the existing law in regarding criminalising, 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 Stricter Digital Regulations
Campaigners for better regulation of online pornography have called on the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote abuse by using young-looking performers dressed as children.
Proposed changes to legislation aim to:
- Prohibit pornography where adults are mimicking children, sometimes recorded in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the crime of making an indecent image of a child to cover material where an older performer plays the role of a child.
- Apply stricter regulation on familial abuse pornography, which studies suggests is heavily recommended by platform 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 oversight agency to conduct inspections on pornography sites and respond to complaints of illegal content.
The campaigners argue that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have existed for decades offline finally apply to the digital age.
