Visitor numbers to pornography platforms in the UK has fallen significantly after the introduction of mandatory age verification earlier this year, as reported by the nation's communications regulator. Simultaneously, the adoption of specialist software designed to circumvent these barriers has increased.
Immediate Fall in User Numbers Following Rule Implementation
The introduction of age verification on 25 July led to an immediate decline in visits to major online adult platforms, such as the leading site in the UK. Figures reveals that visitor numbers to this site in August were 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.
In total, visitor numbers to the 10 most-visited adult services in the UK have now settled at a significantly reduced level than before the end-of-July implementation date. Subsequent analysis indicates this decline in site visits continued past August.
Surge in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Evade Restrictions
In response to the new regulations, adoption of VPN software—which can bypass geographic blocks by masking internet traffic through another nation—increased dramatically following 25 July.
User numbers reached a high at over 1.4 million in mid-August, up from around 650,000 people prior to the checks were introduced. However, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has since fallen back, with current numbers at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the volume of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for adult services.
Young People Taking Action to Harmful Material
In other findings, the watchdog's report found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering distressing content online. Actions ranged from flagging the content to the site to blocking the user who posted it.
This survey was conducted before new regulations came into force that require platforms to prevent children from seeing dangerous content, such as material related to self-harm and adult material. The primary way young people came across such content was by scrolling through a platform timeline, indicating that algorithms were showing harmful material.
Government Announce Review of Adult Content Laws
Separately, the ministers announced it would review the criminal law governing pornography to assess whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern digital age.
“The review will look into the effectiveness of the current law in relation to making illegal, among other things, damaging portrayals of familial abuse and any forms of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” said a government official.
Advocates Call For Stricter Online Regulations
Campaigners for tighter regulation of online pornography have called on the government to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote child sexual abuse by casting youthful adults dressed as children.
Proposed changes to government bills aim to:
- Ban pornography where performers are mimicking children, sometimes recorded in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the offence of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an adult plays the role of a child.
- Introduce stricter controls on incest-themed pornography, which research suggests is heavily recommended by site systems.
- Introduce further controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to own software designed to create non-consensual nude images.
- Create a new, separate regulatory body to perform inspections on pornography sites and respond to reports of unlawful content.
The campaigners argue that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for years in the physical world finally are extended to the digital age.
