British Pornography Site Visits Falls After Identity Verifications, But Virtual Private Network Use Spikes, States Regulator

Traffic to adult content sites in the UK has seen a notable drop since the introduction of mandatory age verification this summer, according to the nation's communications authority. Simultaneously, the usage of tools designed to dodge these blocks has increased.

Immediate Drop in Visitor Numbers After Law Implementation

The enforcement of age verification on 25 July resulted in an swift decline in visits to popular pornography sites, such as the most visited site in the UK. Figures reveals that user traffic to this platform in August stood at 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024.

In total, traffic to the 10 top adult services in the UK have now stabilized at a “lower level” than prior to the end-of-July implementation date. Subsequent analysis indicates this slump in viewing continued past August.

Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Usage to Bypass Checks

Reacting to the new regulations, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can bypass location-based blocks by routing connections via another country—more than doubled following 25 July.

Usage reached a high at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from approximately 650,000 people before the checks began. However, the regulator stated that VPN usage has since decreased, with current numbers at around 900,000. It clarified that the volume of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for adult sites.

Teenagers Responding to Damaging Material

Elsewhere, the regulator's annual study revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering harmful content online. Actions ranged from flagging the material to the platform to muting the user who posted it.

This research was conducted prior to new regulations came into force that compel platforms to prevent children from seeing harmful content, such as material related to self-harm and pornography. The primary way teenagers came across such content was by scrolling through a platform feed, indicating that recommendation systems were serving inappropriate material.

Government Announce Examination of Pornography Legislation

In a related development, the government stated it would examine the criminal law governing pornography to assess whether it is adequate in the ever-developing digital age.

“The examination will investigate the efficacy of the current law in regarding criminalising, among other things, harmful portrayals of incest and any forms of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” stated a government official.

Campaigners Push For Stricter Online Controls

Advocates for tighter regulation of adult content have called on the authorities to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote child sexual abuse by casting young-looking performers dressed as children.

Suggested amendments to government bills aim to:

• Prohibit pornography where adults are mimicking children, often filmed in settings like children’s bedrooms.
• Broaden the offence of making an indecent image of a child to include material where an older performer acts the part of a child.
• Introduce tighter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which studies indicates is often promoted by platform systems.
• Add further restrictions on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to possess tools designed to create private images without permission.
• Create a new, separate regulatory body to perform 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 offline finally are extended to the online sphere.