🔗 Share this article British Pornography Site Visits Falls After Age Checks, Yet Virtual Private Network Usage Surges, States Watchdog Visitor numbers to pornography websites in the UK has fallen significantly after the introduction of mandatory age verification earlier this year, according to the country's communications authority. At the same time, the use of tools designed to circumvent these barriers has increased. Immediate Drop in Visitor Numbers After Rule Implementation The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July caused an immediate fall in traffic to leading online adult platforms, such as the leading site in the UK. Data reveals that user traffic to this platform in August reached 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024. In total, traffic to the ten top adult services in the UK have now settled at a significantly reduced level than prior to the end-of-July deadline. Later data suggests this downward trend in viewing persisted beyond August. Surge in VPN Usage to Bypass Checks Reacting to the new rules, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can circumvent geographic blocks by masking connections via another nation—increased dramatically following 25 July. Usage peaked at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from approximately 650,000 people prior to the verification began. Subsequently, the regulator stated that VPN usage has afterwards steadily declined, with latest numbers standing at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the level of regular VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for pornography services. Young People Taking Action to Damaging Material Elsewhere, the watchdog's report found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering harmful content on the internet. Actions included reporting the material to the site 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, such as material related to self-harm and pornography. The primary way young people encountered such content was by looking through a social media timeline, suggesting that recommendation systems were serving inappropriate material. Government Launch Review of Adult Content Laws In a related development, the government announced it would examine the legislation relating to pornography to consider whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern online world. “The review will investigate the effectiveness of the current law in regarding making illegal, among other things, harmful depictions of incest and any forms of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” stated a justice minister. Advocates Call For Stricter Online Regulations Campaigners for tighter control of adult content have called on the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that encourages abuse by casting youthful performers portraying children. Proposed amendments to government bills aim to: Ban pornography where performers are impersonating children, sometimes filmed in settings like children’s bedrooms. Extend the offence of making an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an adult acts the part of a child. Apply tighter regulation on familial abuse pornography, which research indicates is heavily recommended by site systems. Introduce further restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to own software designed to generate non-consensual nude images. Establish a new, separate oversight agency to perform inspections on adult platforms and act on complaints of illegal content. The advocates argue that these steps would ensure the protections that have existed for years offline finally are extended to the online sphere.
Visitor numbers to pornography websites in the UK has fallen significantly after the introduction of mandatory age verification earlier this year, according to the country's communications authority. At the same time, the use of tools designed to circumvent these barriers has increased. Immediate Drop in Visitor Numbers After Rule Implementation The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July caused an immediate fall in traffic to leading online adult platforms, such as the leading site in the UK. Data reveals that user traffic to this platform in August reached 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024. In total, traffic to the ten top adult services in the UK have now settled at a significantly reduced level than prior to the end-of-July deadline. Later data suggests this downward trend in viewing persisted beyond August. Surge in VPN Usage to Bypass Checks Reacting to the new rules, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can circumvent geographic blocks by masking connections via another nation—increased dramatically following 25 July. Usage peaked at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from approximately 650,000 people prior to the verification began. Subsequently, the regulator stated that VPN usage has afterwards steadily declined, with latest numbers standing at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the level of regular VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for pornography services. Young People Taking Action to Damaging Material Elsewhere, the watchdog's report found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering harmful content on the internet. Actions included reporting the material to the site 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, such as material related to self-harm and pornography. The primary way young people encountered such content was by looking through a social media timeline, suggesting that recommendation systems were serving inappropriate material. Government Launch Review of Adult Content Laws In a related development, the government announced it would examine the legislation relating to pornography to consider whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern online world. “The review will investigate the effectiveness of the current law in regarding making illegal, among other things, harmful depictions of incest and any forms of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” stated a justice minister. Advocates Call For Stricter Online Regulations Campaigners for tighter control of adult content have called on the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that encourages abuse by casting youthful performers portraying children. Proposed amendments to government bills aim to: Ban pornography where performers are impersonating children, sometimes filmed in settings like children’s bedrooms. Extend the offence of making an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an adult acts the part of a child. Apply tighter regulation on familial abuse pornography, which research indicates is heavily recommended by site systems. Introduce further restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to own software designed to generate non-consensual nude images. Establish a new, separate oversight agency to perform inspections on adult platforms and act on complaints of illegal content. The advocates argue that these steps would ensure the protections that have existed for years offline finally are extended to the online sphere.