British Pornography Traffic Falls Following Identity Verifications, Yet VPN Use Spikes, States Regulator
Visitor numbers to pornography sites in the UK has seen a notable drop since the introduction of mandatory age verification earlier this year, as reported by the nation's communications regulator. Simultaneously, the adoption of tools designed to bypass these barriers has risen.
Sharp Drop in User Figures Following Rule Enforcement
The introduction of age verification on 25 July caused an prompt fall in visits to popular pornography sites, including the leading provider in the UK. Data reveals that visitor numbers to this site in August stood at 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million compared to the equivalent month in 2024.
In total, visitor numbers to the 10 top adult services in the UK have now stabilized at a markedly decreased volume than prior to the end-of-July deadline. Subsequent analysis shows this slump in site visits continued past August.
Surge in Virtual Private Network Usage to Bypass Restrictions
Reacting to the new rules, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can bypass location-based restrictions by routing connections through another country—surged after 25 July.
User numbers reached a high at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from around 650,000 users before the verification began. However, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has afterwards fallen back, with latest figures at around 900,000. It added that the level of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for pornography sites.
Teenagers Responding to Harmful Material
In other findings, the watchdog's report revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing harmful content on the internet. Steps taken ranged from reporting the content to the site to blocking the person who shared it.
This survey was carried out prior to new rules came into force that require social media companies to prevent children from accessing dangerous content, such as material related to self-harm and pornography. The primary way young people encountered such content was by looking through a social media feed, suggesting that algorithms were showing harmful material.
Government Announce Review of Pornography Laws
In a related development, the government stated it would examine the criminal law relating to pornography to consider whether it is adequate in the modern online world.
“The examination will look into the effectiveness of the existing law in relation to criminalising, among other things, damaging portrayals of incest and any forms of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” said a government official.
Advocates Push For Stricter Digital Regulations
Advocates for better control of online pornography have called on the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote abuse by casting young-looking adults portraying children.
Proposed amendments to government bills aim to:
- Prohibit pornography where adults are mimicking children, sometimes recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the crime of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an older performer acts the part of a child.
- Introduce tighter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which research suggests is heavily recommended by platform systems.
- Add additional restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to possess software designed to create private images without permission.
- Create a new, separate oversight agency to perform spot checks on adult platforms and act on complaints of unlawful content.
The campaigners contend that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have existed for years in the physical world finally are extended to the digital age.
