UK Adult Content Site Visits Declines After Age Checks, But VPN Usage Spikes, Reports Watchdog

Traffic to adult content platforms in the United Kingdom has fallen significantly since the enforcement of mandatory age verification earlier this year, according to the country's communications watchdog. At the same time, the use of tools designed to circumvent these restrictions has increased.

Sharp Drop in Visitor Figures After Rule Enforcement

The introduction of age verification on 25 July led to an immediate reduction in traffic to leading pornography sites, such as the most visited provider in the UK. Data indicates that visitor numbers to this platform in August reached 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024.

In total, visitor numbers to the ten top pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a “lower level” than before the late July deadline. Subsequent data indicates this slump in site visits persisted past August.

Sharp Increase in VPN Adoption to Evade Restrictions

In response to the new regulations, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can get around geographic blocks by routing connections through another nation—surged after 25 July.

Usage reached a high at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from approximately 650,000 users prior to the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has afterwards decreased, with current numbers standing at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the volume of regular VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for pornography services.

Teenagers Responding to Harmful Material

In other findings, the regulator's annual study revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering damaging content online. Steps taken ranged from flagging the material to the platform to blocking the user who shared it.

This research was carried out prior to new rules took effect that compel social media companies to prevent children from seeing harmful content, including material related to suicide and adult material. The primary way young people encountered such content was by looking through a social media timeline, suggesting that recommendation systems were showing inappropriate material.

Ministers Announce Examination of Pornography Laws

In a related development, the ministers announced it would review the criminal law relating to pornography to consider whether it is adequate in the ever-developing digital age.

“The examination will investigate the efficacy of the existing law in relation to criminalising, among other things, harmful portrayals of familial abuse and any types of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” said a justice minister.

Advocates Push For Stricter Digital Controls

Advocates for tighter regulation of online pornography have urged the authorities to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote abuse by using youthful adults portraying children.

Suggested amendments to government bills seek to:

• Prohibit pornography where performers are impersonating children, sometimes recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
• Broaden the offence of creating an indecent image of a child to include material where an adult plays the role of a child.
• Introduce tighter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which studies indicates is heavily recommended by platform systems.
• Introduce further restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to own tools designed to create non-consensual nude images.
• Create a new, separate regulatory body to conduct inspections on pornography sites and respond to reports of illegal content.

The campaigners contend that these steps would ensure the protections that have existed for years in the physical world finally apply to the online sphere.