British Pornography Site Visits Declines After Identity Checks, But Virtual Private Network Usage Spikes, Reports Watchdog

Visitor numbers to pornography websites in the United Kingdom has decreased markedly since the introduction of mandatory age verification this summer, as reported by the country's communications watchdog. Simultaneously, the usage of specialist software designed to circumvent these barriers has increased.

Sharp Drop in Visitor Figures Following Law Implementation

The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July caused an swift reduction in traffic to popular online adult platforms, including the most visited provider in the UK. Figures reveals that visitor numbers to this platform in August were 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million compared to the same period in 2024.

In total, visitor numbers to the ten top adult services in the UK have now settled at a markedly decreased volume than prior to the late July implementation date. Later analysis suggests this decline in site visits persisted beyond August.

Surge in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Bypass Restrictions

Reacting to the new regulations, adoption of VPN software—which can get around geographic blocks by masking connections through another nation—surged after 25 July.

User numbers peaked at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from approximately 650,000 users before the verification were introduced. However, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has afterwards steadily declined, with current figures standing at approximately 900,000. It added that the level of daily VPN use is “much lower” than user numbers for pornography sites.

Young People Responding to Damaging Material

In other findings, the regulator's annual study found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering distressing content online. Steps taken included flagging the material to the site to blocking the person who posted it.

This survey was conducted before new rules came into force that compel platforms to stop children from accessing harmful content, such as material related to suicide and adult material. The most common way teenagers encountered such content was by looking through a platform timeline, indicating that recommendation systems were serving inappropriate material.

Government Launch Review of Pornography Legislation

In a related development, the government stated it would review the legislation governing pornography to assess whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern digital age.

“The examination will look into the effectiveness of the current law in regarding criminalising, among other things, damaging depictions of familial abuse and any forms of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” stated a government official.

Campaigners Call For Tighter Digital Regulations

Campaigners for better control of online pornography have urged the government to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages child sexual abuse by casting young-looking adults dressed as children.

Suggested amendments to government bills seek to:

• Ban pornography where performers are mimicking children, sometimes recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
• Broaden the offence of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an older performer acts the part of a child.
• Apply tighter regulation on familial abuse pornography, which studies indicates is often promoted by site algorithms.
• Add further restrictions on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to own software designed to generate private images without permission.
• Establish a new, independent oversight agency to conduct spot checks on pornography sites and act on complaints of unlawful content.

The campaigners contend that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for years offline finally are extended to the digital age.