UK Pornography Site Visits Declines Following Age Checks, But Virtual Private Network Usage Surges, Reports Watchdog
Traffic to pornography websites in the UK has decreased markedly after the introduction of age-checking measures this summer, according to the country's communications regulator. At the same time, the usage of tools designed to circumvent these barriers has increased.
Immediate Fall in User Numbers After Law Implementation
The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July led to an prompt reduction in traffic to leading online adult platforms, such as the most visited provider in the UK. Data reveals that user traffic to this platform in August reached 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million compared to the same period in 2024.
Overall, traffic to the ten top pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a significantly reduced level than prior to the late July implementation date. Later data indicates this slump in site visits persisted beyond August.
Sharp Increase in VPN Adoption to Evade Checks
In response to the new regulations, adoption of VPN software—which can circumvent geographic restrictions by routing internet traffic through another country—surged after 25 July.
Usage reached a high at over 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from approximately 650,000 people prior to the verification began. Subsequently, the regulator stated that VPN usage has since steadily declined, with current figures standing at around 900,000. It clarified that the level of daily VPN use is “much lower” than user numbers for pornography sites.
Young People Responding to Harmful Online Content
In other findings, the regulator's report found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering distressing content online. Steps taken included flagging the content to the site to muting the user who shared it.
This survey was conducted prior to new regulations took effect that compel social media companies to stop children from seeing harmful content, including material related to self-harm and adult material. The most common way young people encountered such content was by scrolling through a platform feed, indicating that algorithms were serving inappropriate material.
Ministers Announce Review of Adult Content Laws
Separately, the ministers stated it would examine the criminal law governing pornography to assess whether it is adequate in the ever-developing digital age.
“The review will look into the efficacy of the current law in regarding making illegal, among other things, harmful depictions of familial abuse and any types of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” stated a government official.
Campaigners Call For Stricter Online Regulations
Advocates for better regulation of online pornography have urged the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that encourages child sexual abuse by using youthful adults dressed as children.
Proposed amendments to legislation seek to:
- Prohibit pornography where performers are impersonating children, often filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the offence of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an adult plays the role of a child.
- Apply stricter regulation on familial abuse pornography, which research suggests is often promoted by platform systems.
- Add additional controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to own software designed to generate private images without permission.
- Establish a new, independent oversight agency to conduct inspections on adult platforms and respond to complaints of unlawful content.
The campaigners contend that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have existed for decades in the physical world finally apply to the online sphere.
