UK Adult Content Site Visits Falls Following Age Verifications, But VPN Usage Spikes, States Regulator

Access to adult content sites in the United Kingdom has seen a notable drop since the enforcement of age-checking measures this summer, according to the country's communications watchdog. Concurrently, the use of tools designed to bypass these restrictions has risen.

Immediate Drop in Visitor Numbers After Rule Implementation

The introduction of age verification on 25 July led to an swift reduction in traffic to major pornography sites, including the top site in the UK. Data reveals that visitor numbers to this platform in August stood at 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million compared to the equivalent month in 2024.

Overall, visitor numbers to the 10 top pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a significantly reduced level than prior to the late July implementation date. Subsequent analysis shows this slump in viewing continued past August.

Sharp Increase in VPN Adoption to Bypass Restrictions

Reacting to the new regulations, adoption of VPN software—which can bypass location-based blocks by routing internet traffic through another nation—increased dramatically after 25 July.

Usage reached a high at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from around 650,000 people prior to the verification began. Subsequently, the regulator noted that VPN usage has afterwards decreased, with latest figures at approximately 900,000. It added that the level of daily VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for pornography services.

Teenagers Responding to Damaging Online Content

Elsewhere, the watchdog's annual study revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing damaging content online. Steps taken included flagging the content to the site to blocking the user who posted it.

This survey was conducted prior to new rules took effect that compel platforms to prevent children from accessing dangerous content, such as material related to self-harm and pornography. The most common way young people encountered such content was by looking through a platform feed, suggesting that algorithms were showing harmful material.

Government Launch Examination of Pornography Laws

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

“The examination will look into the effectiveness of the current law in regarding making illegal, among other things, damaging portrayals of incest and any types of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” said a government official.

Advocates Push For Tighter Online Controls

Advocates for better control of online pornography have urged the government to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote abuse by using young-looking adults portraying children.

Suggested amendments to government bills seek to:

• Ban pornography where performers are mimicking children, often recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
• Broaden the offence of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an older performer acts the part of a child.
• Introduce tighter regulation on familial abuse pornography, which studies indicates is often promoted by site algorithms.
• Add additional controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to own software designed to create private images without permission.
• Create a new, separate regulatory body to conduct spot checks on pornography sites and act on reports of illegal content.

The advocates argue that these measures would ensure the protections that have been enforced for years offline finally apply to the online sphere.