British Pornography Site Visits Declines Following Age Checks, But Virtual Private Network Usage Spikes, States Watchdog

Traffic to pornography websites in the UK has seen a notable drop after the roll-out of age-checking measures earlier this year, according to the nation's communications watchdog. Concurrently, the use of tools designed to circumvent these barriers has increased.

Immediate Fall in Visitor Numbers Following Rule Implementation

The enforcement of age verification on 25 July resulted in an immediate reduction in visits to major pornography sites, such as the top provider in the UK. Figures indicates 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.

In total, traffic to the 10 most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a significantly reduced level than prior to the end-of-July deadline. Later analysis suggests this decline in viewing persisted past August.

Surge in Virtual Private Network Usage to Bypass Checks

Reacting to the new rules, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can get around location-based restrictions by masking internet traffic through another country—surged after 25 July.

Usage peaked at over 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from around 650,000 users prior to the checks were introduced. However, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has afterwards fallen back, with latest numbers at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the level of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for pornography services.

Teenagers Responding to Damaging Online Content

Elsewhere, the watchdog's report revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing distressing content online. Steps taken ranged from reporting the content to the platform to blocking the person who shared it.

This research was conducted prior to new rules took effect that require platforms to stop children from seeing dangerous content, including material related to self-harm and pornography. The primary way young people came across such content was by looking through a social media timeline, suggesting that algorithms were showing harmful material.

Government Launch Examination of Adult Content Legislation

Separately, the government announced it would review the legislation governing pornography to assess whether it is adequate in the ever-developing online world.

“The review will look into the effectiveness of the current law in relation to making illegal, among other things, damaging depictions of incest and any types of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” said a justice minister.

Advocates Call For Stricter Online Controls

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

Proposed amendments to legislation aim to:

• Prohibit pornography where performers are mimicking children, sometimes recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
• Broaden the offence of making an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an adult acts the part of a child.
• Introduce tighter controls on familial abuse pornography, which research indicates is often promoted by platform algorithms.
• Add additional restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to own software designed to generate non-consensual nude images.
• Establish a new, separate regulatory body to conduct spot checks on adult platforms and respond to reports of illegal content.

The advocates argue that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have existed for years offline finally apply to the digital age.