British Pornography Site Visits Declines After Identity Checks, Yet Virtual Private Network Usage Spikes, Reports Regulator
Access to adult content platforms in the United Kingdom has seen a notable drop since the introduction of age-checking measures this summer, according to the country's communications watchdog. Concurrently, the use of specialist software designed to circumvent these restrictions has surged.
Sharp Drop in User Figures After Law Implementation
The introduction of age vetting on 25 July resulted in an swift fall in visits to leading online adult platforms, including the top provider in the UK. Figures indicates that visitor numbers to this site in August were 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million compared to the equivalent month in 2024.
Overall, traffic to the ten most-visited adult services in the UK have now settled at a “lower level” than prior to the late July implementation date. Later data indicates this slump in viewing persisted beyond August.
Sharp Increase in VPN Usage to Evade Checks
Reacting to the new regulations, adoption of VPN software—which can bypass location-based blocks by masking internet traffic via another nation—increased dramatically after 25 July.
Usage peaked at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from around 650,000 people prior to the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has afterwards decreased, with latest figures standing at around 900,000. It clarified that the level of daily VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for pornography sites.
Young People Taking Action to Damaging Online Content
In other findings, the regulator's report found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering distressing content on the internet. Actions included reporting the content to the platform to blocking the person who shared it.
This research was carried out before new rules took effect that require platforms to prevent children from seeing dangerous content, including material related to suicide and adult material. The primary way young people came across such content was by scrolling through a social media feed, indicating that algorithms were showing inappropriate material.
Government Announce Review of Pornography Laws
Separately, the ministers stated it would examine the criminal law governing pornography to assess whether it is adequate in the modern digital age.
“The examination will look into the effectiveness of the current law in relation to criminalising, for example, harmful depictions of incest and any forms of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” stated a government official.
Advocates Call For Tighter Digital Controls
Campaigners for better regulation of online pornography have urged the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote child sexual abuse by casting young-looking performers portraying children.
Suggested changes to government bills aim to:
- Ban pornography where performers are impersonating children, often recorded in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the offence of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an adult acts the part of a child.
- Introduce stricter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which research suggests is often promoted by site algorithms.
- Add additional restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to own tools designed to create private images without permission.
- Create a new, separate regulatory body to conduct inspections on adult platforms and act on reports of illegal content.
The advocates contend that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have existed for decades in the physical world finally are extended to the digital age.
