British Pornography Site Visits Falls Following Age Verifications, Yet Virtual Private Network Use Spikes, States Regulator
Access to pornography websites in the United Kingdom has decreased markedly since the introduction of mandatory age verification this summer, as reported by the nation's communications watchdog. Concurrently, the usage of specialist software designed to circumvent these barriers has increased.
Immediate Drop in User Figures Following Rule Enforcement
The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July caused an immediate fall in traffic to major pornography sites, such as the most visited provider in the UK. Figures shows that visitor numbers to this platform in August were 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million compared to the equivalent month in 2024.
Overall, visitor numbers to the ten most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a significantly reduced level than before the late July deadline. Subsequent data indicates this slump in site visits continued past August.
Sharp Increase in VPN Usage to Bypass Checks
Reacting to the new rules, adoption of VPN software—which can bypass location-based restrictions by routing connections through another country—increased dramatically following 25 July.
User numbers reached a high at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from around 650,000 people prior to the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the regulator stated that VPN usage has afterwards fallen back, with current numbers standing at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the level of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for pornography services.
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 seeing distressing content online. Steps taken ranged from reporting the content to the platform to muting the user who shared it.
This survey was conducted prior to new regulations came into force that compel platforms to prevent children from seeing harmful content, including material related to suicide and adult material. The most common way teenagers encountered such content was by scrolling through a social media timeline, indicating that recommendation systems were showing harmful material.
Government Announce Examination of Pornography Laws
In a related development, the ministers announced it would examine the legislation relating to pornography to assess whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern digital age.
“The examination will investigate the efficacy of the current law in relation to criminalising, for example, harmful depictions of familial abuse and any forms of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” said a justice minister.
Campaigners Call For Tighter Digital Controls
Advocates for tighter control of adult content have called on the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote abuse by casting young-looking adults dressed as children.
Proposed changes to government bills aim to:
- Ban pornography where adults are mimicking children, sometimes recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the offence of creating an indecent image of a child to include material where an older performer plays the role of a child.
- Introduce tighter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which research indicates is often promoted by site algorithms.
- Introduce further controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to own tools designed to create private images without permission.
- Create a new, independent regulatory body to perform inspections on adult platforms and respond to complaints of illegal content.
The advocates argue that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have existed for years in the physical world finally are extended to the online sphere.
