UK Pornography Site Visits Declines Following Identity Checks, But Virtual Private Network Use Surges, Reports Regulator

Access to pornography platforms in the UK has fallen significantly since the introduction of mandatory age verification earlier this year, as reported by the nation's communications authority. At the same time, the usage of tools designed to circumvent these barriers has risen.

Immediate Fall in Visitor Figures Following Rule Implementation

The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July led to an immediate reduction in visits to leading online adult platforms, including the top site in the UK. Figures shows that visitor numbers to this platform in August reached 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million compared to the equivalent month in 2024.

In total, visitor numbers to the ten top pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a “lower level” than before the end-of-July implementation date. Subsequent data shows this downward trend in viewing continued past August.

Sharp Increase in VPN Adoption to Bypass Checks

Reacting to the new regulations, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can circumvent location-based restrictions by masking connections through another nation—increased dramatically following 25 July.

User numbers peaked at over 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from around 650,000 people prior to the verification began. Subsequently, the regulator stated that VPN usage has since fallen back, with latest numbers standing at around 900,000. It clarified that the level of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for pornography services.

Teenagers Taking Action to Harmful Online Content

In other findings, the watchdog's report found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering harmful content on the internet. Steps taken ranged from flagging the content to the site to muting the user who shared it.

This survey was carried out prior to new rules came into force that require platforms to stop children from accessing dangerous content, such as material related to self-harm and adult material. The most common way teenagers came across such content was by scrolling through a social media timeline, suggesting that algorithms were showing harmful material.

Government Announce Examination of Adult Content Laws

Separately, the ministers announced it would examine the criminal law relating to pornography to assess whether it is adequate in the modern digital age.

“The review will look into the effectiveness of the current law in regarding criminalising, for example, damaging portrayals of incest and any types of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” stated a justice minister.

Advocates Call For Stricter Digital Controls

Campaigners for better regulation of adult content have called on the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring incest scenes or that encourages abuse by using youthful adults dressed as children.

Suggested changes to government bills aim to:

• Prohibit pornography where performers are impersonating children, often filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
• Broaden the crime of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an adult acts the part of a child.
• Apply stricter controls on familial abuse pornography, which studies suggests is heavily recommended by platform systems.
• Introduce further restrictions on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to own tools designed to generate non-consensual nude images.
• Establish a new, independent regulatory body to conduct spot checks on adult platforms and respond to reports of illegal content.

The campaigners argue that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for decades offline finally apply to the online sphere.