British Pornography Site Visits Falls Following Age Checks, Yet Virtual Private Network Usage Surges, States Watchdog
Access to adult content platforms in the UK has decreased markedly since the roll-out of age-checking measures earlier this year, according to the nation's communications regulator. Simultaneously, the use of specialist software designed to circumvent these blocks has risen.
Immediate Fall in Visitor Figures Following Law Enforcement
The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July led to an swift fall in visits to major pornography sites, including the leading site in the UK. Figures shows that visitor numbers to this platform in August were 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.
Overall, traffic to the ten top adult services in the UK have now stabilized at a significantly reduced level than before the end-of-July implementation date. Later data indicates this downward trend in viewing persisted past August.
Sharp Increase in VPN Adoption to Bypass Restrictions
Reacting to the new regulations, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can get around geographic restrictions by routing internet traffic through another nation—increased dramatically following 25 July.
Usage peaked at more than 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from around 650,000 users before the checks were introduced. Subsequently, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has afterwards decreased, with current numbers at around 900,000. It added that the level of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for adult services.
Teenagers Taking Action to Harmful Material
In other findings, the watchdog's annual study found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing distressing content on the internet. Actions ranged from flagging the material to the platform to blocking the person who posted it.
This research was carried out before new regulations came into force that require platforms to stop children from accessing harmful content, such as material related to self-harm and pornography. The primary way young people encountered such content was by scrolling through a platform timeline, suggesting that recommendation systems were showing inappropriate material.
Ministers Announce Examination of Pornography Laws
In a related development, the government stated it would examine the criminal law governing pornography to consider whether it is effective in the ever-developing online world.
“The review will investigate the effectiveness of the existing law in relation to making illegal, for example, harmful portrayals of familial abuse and any types of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” stated a government official.
Campaigners Call For Tighter Online Regulations
Campaigners for tighter control of adult content have called on the government to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote child sexual abuse by casting youthful performers portraying children.
Suggested changes to government bills aim to:
- Prohibit pornography where adults are impersonating children, sometimes recorded in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the crime of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an older performer plays the role of a child.
- Apply tighter controls on familial abuse pornography, which studies indicates is heavily recommended by platform systems.
- Add additional controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to possess software designed to create non-consensual nude images.
- Create a new, separate oversight agency to perform inspections on pornography sites and act on complaints of illegal content.
The advocates contend that these steps would ensure the protections that have existed for years in the physical world finally are extended to the digital age.
