Is the Online Safety Act helping porn addicts recover?

From the very early days of the internet, Brits had almost limitless access to porn of all kinds – hardcore, softcore, legal and questionable.

It was so readily available that many got their first experience of adult content by accident, with eye-popping images appearing unsolicited on their social media feeds.

Then, once they knew where to find it, this neverending stream of raunchy material provided a reliable dopamine hit that could easily prove addictive.

And there wasn’t a single barrier in the way. Until July 25, 2025.

That was the date when a certain section of the Online Safety Act – legislation passed under the Conservatives with bipartisan support – came into effect.

It required all websites and apps that allow adult content to introduce age checks which would ensure only over-18s were able to gain access.

What effect has the Online Safety act had?

For the first time ever, a solid obstacle was placed between British internet users and porn. What did that do to people who are hooked on the stuff?

‘They have changed the way they are behaving,’ according to Zaheen Ahmed, Director of Therapy at UK Addiction Treatment Centres.

‘They say it’s not easily accessible, in terms of just opening up and watch porn on Pornhub, and some people are bit more worried about what will happen to the data if they give all their details.

‘So that is a deterrent for them to use less porn, or they will resort to a different ways and forms to watch it.’

As a result, people who are addicted to porn are ‘less likely to watch the mainstream’, Zaheen told Metro.

That could mean they’re more likely to buy content, he said, or get in contact with creators directly on sites such as OnlyFans.

Alex Warden, a porn addiction specialist at Priory Hospital Chelmsford, said that while the age verification barrier brings in a ‘clinically meaningful’ pause for people actively trying to quit, it doesn’t ‘remove the underlying drive’.

He said: ‘Addiction is adaptive, and many people simply redirect their behaviour towards unregulated or harder-to-track platforms.

‘These sites can carry increased risks of exposure to harmful material, non-consensual content, malware, and aggressive advertising.’

Downloads of VPNs exploded after July 25, and it should come as no surprise that those with a compulsion to watch porn have embraced this clandestine route to access their favourite sites.

For that reason, Alex describes the impact of the new legislation on treatment as ‘complex’.

Therapists in the near future may see ‘a shift in the shape of addictive behaviour rather than a significant reduction in overall prevalence’, he said.

But both Alex and Zaheen were clear there is one area where the Online Safety Act is having a substantial positive effect – and it’s exactly what the government will have been hoping for.

While people with an existing problem may find ways to bypass the restrictions, blocking these sites for under-18s ‘will mean that fewer people get to that stage’, Zaheen said.

For years, experts have been raising the alarm about how porn is warping the view of sex, intimacy and consent among young people – issues that are compounded when addiction is added to the mix.

This impact of the law is ‘unequivocally beneficial’, according to Alex, as it ‘offers an additional layer of protection at a time when children and adolescents are especially vulnerable’.

He added: ‘Prevention is always more effective than intervention after behaviours have become entrenched.’

But even if the Online Safety Act is successful, both experts agreed there is a much better and simpler way to combat the pain of porn addiction: human connection.

Asked for his advice, Zaheen suggested: ‘Go out, like people used to – go to the pub, go out, meet, have a meaningful relationship, build a connection, then have sex.’

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