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

Access to pornography websites in the UK has fallen significantly after the roll-out of age-checking measures earlier this year, as reported by the nation's communications authority. At the same time, the adoption of tools designed to circumvent these restrictions has surged.

Immediate Drop in User Figures Following Rule Implementation

The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July caused an swift reduction in visits to leading online adult platforms, including the top provider in the UK. Figures indicates that visitor numbers to this site in August reached 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.

In total, traffic to the 10 top pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a markedly decreased volume than prior to the late July deadline. Later analysis indicates this slump in viewing persisted beyond August.

Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Usage to Bypass Restrictions

Reacting to the new rules, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can circumvent location-based blocks by masking connections through another nation—more than doubled following 25 July.

User numbers peaked at over 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from around 650,000 people prior to the checks were introduced. Subsequently, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has since decreased, with current numbers standing at approximately 900,000. It added that the level of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for pornography services.

Young People Responding to Harmful Material

Elsewhere, the watchdog's report found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing harmful content on the internet. Steps taken ranged from flagging the content to the platform to blocking the person who posted it.

This survey was conducted prior to new regulations came into force that compel platforms to prevent children from seeing harmful content, including material related to self-harm and pornography. The primary way teenagers came across such content was by scrolling through a social media timeline, suggesting that algorithms were serving inappropriate material.

Government Announce Review of Pornography Laws

Separately, the government stated it would review the criminal law relating to pornography to consider whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern online world.

“The review will look into the efficacy of the existing law in regarding making illegal, among other things, harmful depictions of incest and any forms of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” said a government official.

Campaigners Call For Stricter Digital Controls

Campaigners for better control of online pornography have urged the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote child sexual abuse by using youthful adults portraying children.

Suggested changes to government bills seek to:

• Ban pornography where adults are mimicking children, often filmed in settings like children’s bedrooms.
• Extend the offence of creating an indecent image of a child to include material where an adult plays the role of a child.
• Introduce tighter controls on incest-themed pornography, which research suggests is heavily recommended by platform systems.
• Add further controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to possess software designed to generate non-consensual nude images.
• Create a new, separate oversight agency to perform inspections on adult platforms and respond to complaints of unlawful content.

The campaigners argue that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for decades offline finally are extended to the online sphere.