Since the introduction of mandatory age verification for British users on adult websites, traffic to the most popular portals, including Pornhub, has almost halved.
This is reported by UNN with reference to the Financial Times.
Details
British user traffic to some of the world's most popular pornographic websites has almost halved since new age verification rules came into force in the UK, with Pornhub losing over 1 million visitors in just two weeks.
Decline in attendanceAlready in the first two weeks after the start of checks, traffic to the most popular porn sites in the UK dropped sharply:
- Pornhub and XVideos lost about 47% of visitors;
- xHamster - 39%.
Average daily visits to Pornhub decreased from 3.2 million in July to 2 million in early August, and xHamster from 1.7 million to 1.2 million. Pornhub explained that the drop in traffic is typical for sites that comply with age verification requirements, and is often accompanied by an increase in visits to sites that do not comply with such rules.
At the same time, the sharp reduction in traffic coincided with an active increase in VPN use in the UK - several user location hiding apps jumped to the top of the App Store, and providers Proton and Nord Security reported a tenfold increase in users.
This may partially change the statistics of visits to porn sites. According to Similarweb, the total monthly number of visits to the 90 largest adult sites decreased by 23% from July to August.
However, some smaller sites showed a sharp increase in traffic.
The regulator Ofcom has launched an investigation into four companies responsible for managing more than 30 porn sites, regarding whether they are doing enough to prevent people under 18 from accessing their services.
New rules
The UK media regulator Ofcom introduced new age verification rules for adult websites on July 25, in accordance with the Online Safety Act. Users are asked to confirm their age by uploading documents, entering credit card details, or scanning their face.
The law, adopted in 2023 and being phased in, prohibits access to pornography and harmful materials for children under 18.
Research
Ofcom showed that 8% of children aged 8–14 and 19% of boys aged 13–14 visited pornographic sites within a month. The goals of the law are supported by the majority of the population, but its introduction has raised concerns about privacy and freedom of speech.
The new rules did not affect the traffic of social networks such as X or Reddit, which remained stable.
Earlier, UNN wrote that for the second time Pornhub ceased operations in France - the last time after the age verification law was reinstated. The company states that the new requirements are not only ineffective in protecting children, but also create serious risks for user privacy.