British Adult Content Site Visits Declines After Identity Checks, But VPN Use Surges, States Regulator

Traffic to pornography websites in the UK has fallen significantly since the introduction of mandatory age verification this summer, as reported by the nation's communications watchdog. At the same time, the usage of specialist software designed to bypass these blocks has risen.

Sharp Drop in Visitor Figures After Rule Implementation

The enforcement of age verification on 25 July caused an swift reduction in traffic to popular pornography sites, including the leading provider in the UK. Data reveals that user traffic to this platform in August reached 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million compared to the same period in 2024.

Overall, visitor numbers to the 10 most-visited adult services in the UK have now settled at a significantly reduced level than prior to the end-of-July implementation date. Subsequent data shows this slump in viewing continued past August.

Surge in Virtual Private Network Usage to Bypass Restrictions

In response to the new rules, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can circumvent location-based restrictions by masking connections through another country—increased dramatically after 25 July.

User numbers peaked at more than 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from around 650,000 people before the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has since fallen back, with current numbers standing at approximately 900,000. It added that the volume of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for pornography services.

Young People Responding to Damaging Online Content

Elsewhere, the watchdog's annual study revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing damaging content on the internet. Actions included flagging the content to the site to muting the user who posted it.

This research was carried out before new rules took effect that require platforms to prevent children from accessing harmful content, including material related to suicide and pornography. The primary way young people came across such content was by looking through a social media timeline, suggesting that recommendation systems were showing harmful material.

Government Announce Examination of Adult Content Legislation

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

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

Campaigners Push For Tighter Online Controls

Advocates for better control of online pornography have called on the government to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote child sexual abuse by casting youthful performers portraying children.

Suggested amendments to legislation seek to:

• Ban pornography where adults are mimicking children, sometimes recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
• Extend the offence of creating an indecent image of a child to cover material where an adult plays the role of a child.
• Introduce tighter regulation on familial abuse pornography, which studies suggests is often promoted by platform algorithms.
• Add further restrictions on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to possess tools designed to generate non-consensual nude images.
• Create a new, independent oversight agency to conduct spot checks on pornography sites and act on reports of illegal content.

The campaigners argue that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for years in the physical world finally are extended to the digital age.