British Pornography Traffic Declines Following Identity Verifications, Yet VPN Use Surges, States Regulator

Visitor numbers to pornography websites in the United Kingdom has fallen significantly after the introduction of age-checking measures this summer, as reported by the nation's communications watchdog. At the same time, the adoption of specialist software designed to dodge these blocks has risen.

Immediate Fall in User Numbers Following Law Enforcement

The introduction of age verification on 25 July caused an swift fall in visits to leading pornography sites, including the leading site in the UK. Data indicates that visitor numbers to this platform in August stood at 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million compared to the same period in 2024.

In total, visitor numbers to the 10 most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a significantly reduced level than before the late July implementation date. Later analysis suggests this decline in site visits continued past August.

Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Usage to Bypass Checks

Reacting to the new rules, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can get around geographic blocks by routing internet traffic via another nation—surged after 25 July.

User numbers reached a high at over 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from approximately 650,000 people prior to the checks were introduced. Subsequently, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has afterwards 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 Material

Elsewhere, the regulator's report revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering harmful content online. Steps taken included reporting the material to the platform to blocking the person who shared it.

This survey was carried out before new regulations took effect that require platforms to prevent children from seeing harmful content, such as material related to self-harm and pornography. The most common way young people encountered such content was by looking through a platform feed, indicating that algorithms were showing inappropriate material.

Government Launch Review of Pornography Laws

In a related development, the government stated it would examine the legislation relating to pornography to consider whether it is adequate in the modern online world.

“The examination will investigate the effectiveness of the current law in regarding making illegal, among other things, harmful depictions of incest and any forms of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” stated a justice minister.

Campaigners Push For Tighter Online Controls

Advocates for better control of adult content have urged the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote abuse by casting young-looking adults portraying children.

Proposed amendments to government bills seek to:

• Prohibit pornography where performers are mimicking children, sometimes filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
• Broaden the offence of making 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 research suggests is often promoted by site algorithms.
• Introduce further restrictions on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to own tools designed to create non-consensual nude images.
• Create a new, independent oversight agency to perform spot checks on adult platforms and respond to complaints of illegal content.

The campaigners argue that these measures would ensure the protections that have been enforced for decades offline finally apply to the digital age.