The introduction of new age-verification laws in the United Kingdom has led to a significant decline in traffic to major pornography websites. Since July, users in the UK must verify they are over 18 by uploading identification documents, sharing credit card information, or using facial-recognition technology. These measures aim to prevent children from accessing potentially harmful content online.

Data from analytics firm Similarweb indicates that Pornhub, the most visited pornography site in the UK, saw a nearly 50% drop in traffic, losing over 1 million visitors since the age checks were implemented on July 25. Another popular site, Xvideos, experienced a 47% decrease in traffic during the same period. Australia is expected to adopt similar age-verification measures by the end of the year.

Hannah Swirsky, head of policy and public affairs at the Internet Watch Foundation, stated that the new laws are effective. "The regulator has been very clear that self-declaration, so just ticking a box to say that you're over 18, is not a highly effective form of age assurance," she said. Swirsky noted that children have reported encountering harmful content online, and the new measures make it more difficult for them to access such material.

Concerns about the impact of pornography on youth have been highlighted in various reports. A 2023 report by the Children's Commissioner for England found that 50% of child sexual abuse cases involving another child included language or actions resembling violent pornography. The report indicated that some children linked their harmful behavior to what they had seen in porn, raising alarms about how exposure to such content can distort their understanding of consent and healthy relationships.

A 2022 study published in the Journal of Research on Adolescence found that adolescents who viewed pornography were more likely to engage in sexual harassment later on, with a stronger correlation among boys. The eSafety Commissioner of Australia, Julie Inman Grant, reported that about 30% of children in Australia encounter pornography online by age 13. Starting March 9, 2024, high-risk websites in Australia will be required to implement age assurance measures, with search engines following suit by June 2027.

Swirsky compared the new regulations to age checks at bars, stating, "These changes are not a big hindrance for adults if they do want to access certain content, in the same way that you walk into a pub or a bar you may be required to show ID."

The new UK laws have sparked debate, with some groups expressing concerns about free speech. The Liberal Democrats have called for a parliamentary review of the legislation, and a petition to repeal the laws has garnered over 500,000 signatures. According to Ofcom, approximately 14 million people in the UK accessed pornography online in 2023, representing 29% of adult internet users. Websites that fail to comply with the new regulations could face fines of up to $36.5 million or 10% of their global revenue.

While major pornography sites have implemented age checks, some smaller sites have not. A spokesperson for Pornhub noted, "As we've seen in many jurisdictions around the world, there is often a drop in traffic for compliant sites and an increase in traffic for non-compliant sites." The average daily visits to Pornhub in the UK fell from 3.2 million before the laws to around 2 million afterward.

Following the introduction of the age verification rules, there has been a rise in the use of apps that mask users' locations. Ofcom reported that VPNs became the most downloaded apps on Apple's App Store in the UK shortly after the new laws took effect. Swirsky mentioned, "When the measures first came in, there was a rise in people downloading VPNs, but we don't have evidence currently that it is children using VPNs."

The Australian Government has indicated that trials of its age assurance measures have shown that geolocation technology can help identify users attempting to conceal their real location through VPNs.