🔗 Share this article British Pornography Site Visits Falls After Age Checks, Yet VPN Use Surges, Reports Watchdog Access to adult content platforms in the United Kingdom has fallen significantly after the roll-out of age-checking measures this summer, as reported by the country's communications authority. At the same time, the use of specialist software designed to bypass these barriers has surged. Sharp Drop in Visitor Figures After Rule Enforcement The enforcement of age verification on 25 July caused an immediate decline in traffic to leading pornography sites, such as the most visited site in the UK. Data reveals that visitor numbers to this site in August were 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million compared to the equivalent month in 2024. Overall, visitor numbers to the 10 top adult services in the UK have now settled at a markedly decreased volume than before the late July implementation date. Subsequent analysis indicates this downward trend in site visits persisted past August. Sharp Increase in VPN Adoption to Evade Checks Reacting to the new regulations, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can bypass location-based restrictions by routing connections through another nation—surged following 25 July. User numbers peaked at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from approximately 650,000 people before the verification began. Subsequently, the regulator noted that VPN usage has since decreased, with current numbers standing at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the level of regular VPN use is “much lower” than user numbers for pornography sites. Teenagers Taking Action to Damaging Online Content In other findings, the watchdog's annual study found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing damaging content on the internet. Actions included reporting the material to the platform to muting the user who posted it. This research was conducted prior to new rules came into force that require platforms to stop children from seeing dangerous content, such as material related to suicide and adult material. The most common way young people came across such content was by looking through a platform timeline, suggesting that algorithms were serving inappropriate material. Government Announce Review of Pornography Legislation Separately, the ministers announced it would examine the criminal law governing pornography to assess whether it is “fit for purpose” in the ever-developing digital age. “The review will investigate the efficacy of the existing law in regarding making illegal, among other things, harmful depictions of incest and any types of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” stated a government official. Campaigners Call For Tighter Digital Controls Advocates for better control of online pornography have urged the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote abuse by casting youthful performers portraying children. Proposed amendments to government bills seek to: Prohibit pornography where performers are mimicking children, often filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms. Extend 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 platform algorithms. Add additional controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to possess software designed to create private images without permission. Create a new, independent oversight agency to conduct spot checks on pornography sites and act on complaints of illegal content. The advocates contend that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have existed for decades offline finally are extended to the digital age.
Access to adult content platforms in the United Kingdom has fallen significantly after the roll-out of age-checking measures this summer, as reported by the country's communications authority. At the same time, the use of specialist software designed to bypass these barriers has surged. Sharp Drop in Visitor Figures After Rule Enforcement The enforcement of age verification on 25 July caused an immediate decline in traffic to leading pornography sites, such as the most visited site in the UK. Data reveals that visitor numbers to this site in August were 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million compared to the equivalent month in 2024. Overall, visitor numbers to the 10 top adult services in the UK have now settled at a markedly decreased volume than before the late July implementation date. Subsequent analysis indicates this downward trend in site visits persisted past August. Sharp Increase in VPN Adoption to Evade Checks Reacting to the new regulations, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can bypass location-based restrictions by routing connections through another nation—surged following 25 July. User numbers peaked at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from approximately 650,000 people before the verification began. Subsequently, the regulator noted that VPN usage has since decreased, with current numbers standing at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the level of regular VPN use is “much lower” than user numbers for pornography sites. Teenagers Taking Action to Damaging Online Content In other findings, the watchdog's annual study found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing damaging content on the internet. Actions included reporting the material to the platform to muting the user who posted it. This research was conducted prior to new rules came into force that require platforms to stop children from seeing dangerous content, such as material related to suicide and adult material. The most common way young people came across such content was by looking through a platform timeline, suggesting that algorithms were serving inappropriate material. Government Announce Review of Pornography Legislation Separately, the ministers announced it would examine the criminal law governing pornography to assess whether it is “fit for purpose” in the ever-developing digital age. “The review will investigate the efficacy of the existing law in regarding making illegal, among other things, harmful depictions of incest and any types of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” stated a government official. Campaigners Call For Tighter Digital Controls Advocates for better control of online pornography have urged the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote abuse by casting youthful performers portraying children. Proposed amendments to government bills seek to: Prohibit pornography where performers are mimicking children, often filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms. Extend 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 platform algorithms. Add additional controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to possess software designed to create private images without permission. Create a new, independent oversight agency to conduct spot checks on pornography sites and act on complaints of illegal content. The advocates contend that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have existed for decades offline finally are extended to the digital age.