UK Pornography Site Visits Declines Following Identity Checks, Yet VPN Usage Surges, Reports Watchdog
Visitor numbers to adult content websites in the UK has fallen significantly after the roll-out of age-checking measures this summer, as reported by the nation's communications regulator. Simultaneously, the use of specialist software designed to dodge these blocks has risen.
Immediate Drop in Visitor Figures Following Law Enforcement
The introduction of age vetting on 25 July resulted in an swift decline in visits to major pornography sites, such as the most visited site in the UK. Data indicates that user traffic to this site in August were 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.
In total, traffic to the 10 most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a markedly decreased volume than before the end-of-July implementation date. Later data indicates this slump in viewing continued beyond August.
Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Evade Checks
Reacting to the new rules, adoption of VPN software—which can get around location-based blocks by routing internet traffic via another country—increased dramatically following 25 July.
Usage peaked at more than 1.4 million in mid-August, up from approximately 650,000 people before the checks began. Subsequently, the regulator stated that VPN usage has since steadily declined, with latest numbers standing at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the level of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for pornography sites.
Teenagers Responding to Damaging Material
In other findings, the watchdog's annual study found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing distressing content online. Actions included flagging the content to the site to blocking the person who posted it.
This research was carried out prior to new rules came into force that require social media companies to prevent children from accessing dangerous content, including material related to suicide and pornography. The most common way young people came across such content was by scrolling through a social media feed, indicating that recommendation systems were serving inappropriate material.
Ministers Announce Review of Adult Content Laws
Separately, the government announced it would examine the legislation governing pornography to consider whether it is adequate in the ever-developing online world.
“The examination will investigate the effectiveness of the current law in regarding criminalising, among other things, harmful depictions of familial abuse and any forms of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” said a justice minister.
Advocates Push For Stricter Digital Controls
Campaigners for tighter control of adult content have called on the authorities to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote child sexual abuse by using young-looking adults portraying children.
Suggested amendments to legislation aim to:
- Prohibit pornography where adults are impersonating children, often recorded in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the offence of making an indecent image of a child to cover material where an adult plays the role of a child.
- Apply stricter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which research indicates is often promoted by site systems.
- Add additional restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to own software designed to generate private images without permission.
- Establish a new, separate oversight agency to perform spot checks on pornography sites and act on complaints of illegal content.
The campaigners contend that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have existed for years offline finally are extended to the online sphere.
