🔗 Share this article British Pornography Site Visits Falls After Identity Checks, But VPN Use Surges, Reports Regulator Access to pornography websites in the UK has fallen significantly after the enforcement of age-checking measures this summer, according to the nation's communications regulator. 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 resulted in an immediate reduction in visits to major pornography sites, such as the most visited provider in the UK. Figures reveals that visitor numbers 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 adult services in the UK have now settled at a “lower level” than before the end-of-July deadline. Later data suggests this decline in site visits persisted past August. Surge in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Evade Restrictions Reacting to the new regulations, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can bypass location-based blocks by routing internet traffic via another nation—more than doubled after 25 July. Usage peaked at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from around 650,000 people before the verification began. Subsequently, the regulator noted that VPN usage has since steadily declined, with latest numbers standing at around 900,000. It added that the volume of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for pornography services. Teenagers Responding to Damaging Material Elsewhere, the watchdog's annual study 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 blocking the person who shared it. This research was conducted prior to new regulations came into force that compel platforms to stop children from accessing harmful content, such as material related to self-harm and adult material. The most common way teenagers encountered such content was by scrolling through a platform feed, indicating that algorithms were serving inappropriate material. Government Announce Examination of Adult Content Legislation Separately, the government stated it would examine the criminal law relating to pornography to assess whether it is adequate in the ever-developing online world. “The examination will look into the efficacy of the existing law in regarding making illegal, for example, damaging depictions of incest and any forms of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” said a government official. Advocates Call For Stricter Online Regulations Campaigners for better regulation of online pornography have urged the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages child sexual abuse by using youthful adults portraying children. Proposed amendments to legislation seek to: Ban pornography where adults are mimicking children, sometimes recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms. Extend the offence of creating an indecent image of a child to cover material where an older performer plays the role of a child. Introduce tighter controls on familial abuse pornography, which research suggests is heavily recommended by platform systems. Introduce additional controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to possess software designed to create non-consensual nude images. Establish a new, independent oversight agency to conduct inspections on adult platforms and act on reports of illegal content. The campaigners contend that these measures would ensure the protections that have been enforced for years in the physical world finally are extended to the digital age.
Access to pornography websites in the UK has fallen significantly after the enforcement of age-checking measures this summer, according to the nation's communications regulator. 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 resulted in an immediate reduction in visits to major pornography sites, such as the most visited provider in the UK. Figures reveals that visitor numbers 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 adult services in the UK have now settled at a “lower level” than before the end-of-July deadline. Later data suggests this decline in site visits persisted past August. Surge in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Evade Restrictions Reacting to the new regulations, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can bypass location-based blocks by routing internet traffic via another nation—more than doubled after 25 July. Usage peaked at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from around 650,000 people before the verification began. Subsequently, the regulator noted that VPN usage has since steadily declined, with latest numbers standing at around 900,000. It added that the volume of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for pornography services. Teenagers Responding to Damaging Material Elsewhere, the watchdog's annual study 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 blocking the person who shared it. This research was conducted prior to new regulations came into force that compel platforms to stop children from accessing harmful content, such as material related to self-harm and adult material. The most common way teenagers encountered such content was by scrolling through a platform feed, indicating that algorithms were serving inappropriate material. Government Announce Examination of Adult Content Legislation Separately, the government stated it would examine the criminal law relating to pornography to assess whether it is adequate in the ever-developing online world. “The examination will look into the efficacy of the existing law in regarding making illegal, for example, damaging depictions of incest and any forms of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” said a government official. Advocates Call For Stricter Online Regulations Campaigners for better regulation of online pornography have urged the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages child sexual abuse by using youthful adults portraying children. Proposed amendments to legislation seek to: Ban pornography where adults are mimicking children, sometimes recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms. Extend the offence of creating an indecent image of a child to cover material where an older performer plays the role of a child. Introduce tighter controls on familial abuse pornography, which research suggests is heavily recommended by platform systems. Introduce additional controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to possess software designed to create non-consensual nude images. Establish a new, independent oversight agency to conduct inspections on adult platforms and act on reports of illegal content. The campaigners contend that these measures would ensure the protections that have been enforced for years in the physical world finally are extended to the digital age.