British Pornography Site Visits Declines After Identity Checks, Yet VPN Use Surges, Reports Watchdog

Visitor numbers to pornography platforms in the United Kingdom has fallen significantly after the introduction of age-checking measures this summer, as reported by the nation's communications authority. Simultaneously, the usage of tools designed to circumvent these barriers has increased.

Immediate Drop in User Numbers Following Rule Enforcement

The introduction of age vetting on 25 July resulted in an prompt decline in visits to popular pornography sites, including the leading site in the UK. Data reveals that user traffic to this platform in August were 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.

In total, visitor numbers to the ten most-visited adult services in the UK have now stabilized at a markedly decreased volume than before the late July deadline. Subsequent analysis indicates this decline in viewing continued past August.

Surge in VPN Adoption to Bypass Restrictions

In response to the new rules, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can bypass location-based blocks by masking internet traffic via another country—increased dramatically after 25 July.

User numbers peaked at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from approximately 650,000 people prior to the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has since decreased, with current figures standing at around 900,000. It clarified that the volume of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for adult services.

Young People Responding to Damaging Online Content

Elsewhere, the regulator's report revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing distressing content online. Actions ranged from reporting the material to the platform to blocking the person who shared it.

This survey was conducted prior to new regulations took effect that compel platforms to prevent children from accessing dangerous content, such as material related to suicide and pornography. The most common way teenagers came across such content was by looking through a platform feed, suggesting that recommendation systems were serving inappropriate material.

Government Launch Examination of Pornography Legislation

In a related development, the government announced it would review the criminal law relating to pornography to assess whether it is “fit for purpose” in the ever-developing online world.

“The review will investigate the effectiveness of the existing law in relation to making illegal, among other things, harmful portrayals of familial abuse and any forms of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” said a government official.

Campaigners Push For Stricter Digital Regulations

Advocates for better control of online pornography have called on the authorities to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote child sexual abuse by using youthful performers portraying children.

Suggested amendments to legislation seek to:

• Prohibit pornography where adults are mimicking children, often recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
• Broaden the crime of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an older performer acts the part of a child.
• Apply tighter controls on familial abuse pornography, which research indicates is often promoted by site algorithms.
• Introduce further controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to possess software designed to generate non-consensual nude images.
• Establish a new, separate regulatory body to conduct spot checks on adult platforms and respond to reports of illegal content.

The advocates argue that these measures would ensure the protections that have been enforced for years in the physical world finally apply to the online sphere.