British Pornography Site Visits Declines After Identity Checks, But VPN Use Surges, Reports Watchdog
Visitor numbers to adult content websites in the UK has fallen significantly since the enforcement of mandatory age verification this summer, according to the country's communications watchdog. Concurrently, the usage of tools designed to bypass these barriers has surged.
Immediate Fall in Visitor Numbers Following Rule Implementation
The introduction of age vetting on 25 July resulted in an swift fall in traffic to leading pornography sites, such as the top site in the UK. Data shows that visitor numbers to this site in August reached 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024.
Overall, visitor numbers to the ten top pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a significantly reduced level than prior to the end-of-July deadline. Later data suggests this decline in viewing persisted beyond August.
Surge in VPN Usage to Evade Restrictions
Reacting to the new rules, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can get around geographic restrictions by masking connections through another nation—surged after 25 July.
Usage peaked at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from around 650,000 people prior to the checks began. However, the regulator noted that VPN usage has since steadily declined, with current figures standing at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the volume of regular VPN use is “much lower” than user numbers for pornography sites.
Teenagers Taking Action to Harmful Online Content
In other findings, the regulator's annual study found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering distressing content on the internet. Steps taken included flagging the material to the site to blocking the user who posted it.
This survey was carried out before new rules came into force that require platforms to stop children from seeing harmful content, such as material related to self-harm and adult material. The primary way young people encountered such content was by scrolling through a social media feed, suggesting that algorithms were showing inappropriate material.
Ministers Announce Review of Pornography Legislation
In a related development, the government stated it would examine the criminal law relating to pornography to consider whether it is effective in the modern digital age.
“The examination will investigate the effectiveness of the current law in relation to making illegal, among other things, harmful depictions of incest and any types of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” said a government official.
Campaigners Push For Tighter Online Regulations
Campaigners for better control of online pornography have called on the authorities to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote abuse by casting young-looking performers portraying children.
Suggested changes to legislation seek to:
- Ban pornography where performers are impersonating 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 acts the part of a child.
- Introduce stricter controls on familial abuse pornography, which studies suggests is often promoted by site algorithms.
- Add additional controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to possess software designed to generate private images without permission.
- Create a new, independent oversight agency to conduct spot checks on pornography sites and act on reports of illegal content.
The campaigners contend that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for years in the physical world finally apply to the digital age.
