Porn site traffic plummets as UK age verification rules enforced
7 months ago
- #online safety
- #age verification
- #pornography regulation
- The number of UK visitors to popular pornography sites has decreased sharply following the enforcement of enhanced age verification rules on July 25 under the Online Safety Act.
- Pornhub lost over one million visitors in two weeks, with a 47% drop in traffic between July 24 and August 8; other sites like XVideos and OnlyFans also saw significant declines.
- Some smaller and less regulated pornography sites experienced increased visits, highlighting a shift to non-compliant platforms as compliant sites adhere to the new rules.
- VPN apps saw a surge in downloads in the UK after the rules were enforced, as they can disguise users' locations and bypass restrictions, making data collection on site visits more difficult.
- Ofcom estimates 14 million people watch online pornography and has outlined methods for age verification, including credit card checks, photo ID matching, and selfie-based age estimation.
- Critics warn that the changes might drive users to more extreme content on darker parts of the internet, such as the dark web, as an unintended consequence of the legislation.