British Adult Content Site Visits Falls After Identity Checks, Yet VPN Use Surges, Reports Regulator

Traffic to pornography websites in the UK has seen a notable drop since the enforcement of age-checking measures this summer, according to the nation's communications regulator. Simultaneously, the usage of specialist software designed to circumvent these blocks has risen.

Immediate Drop in User Numbers Following Rule Implementation

The introduction of age verification on 25 July led to an prompt decline in visits to popular online adult platforms, including the top site in the UK. Figures shows that user traffic to this site in August stood at 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024.

Overall, visitor numbers to the ten most-visited adult services in the UK have now settled at a markedly decreased volume than before the end-of-July deadline. Later data indicates this decline in site visits persisted beyond August.

Surge in VPN Usage to Bypass Restrictions

In response to the new regulations, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can circumvent geographic blocks by masking internet traffic via another nation—surged following 25 July.

User numbers reached a high at more than 1.4 million in mid-August, up from approximately 650,000 users prior to the verification began. Subsequently, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has since decreased, with latest figures at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the level of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for pornography services.

Young People Responding to Harmful Material

Elsewhere, the watchdog's annual study found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing harmful content online. Steps taken ranged from reporting the content to the site to blocking the person who shared it.

This survey was carried out prior to new rules came into force that compel social media companies to stop children from seeing dangerous content, such as material related to suicide and pornography. The primary way young people came across such content was by looking through a platform feed, indicating that algorithms were serving harmful material.

Government Announce Review of Adult Content Legislation

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

“The review will look into the efficacy of the existing law in regarding making illegal, for example, harmful depictions of familial abuse and any types of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” said a government official.

Campaigners Call For Stricter Digital Regulations

Advocates for tighter control of adult content have urged the government 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 changes to legislation seek to:

• Ban pornography where performers are impersonating children, sometimes recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
• Extend the offence of making an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an older performer acts the part of a child.
• Apply tighter regulation on familial abuse pornography, which studies indicates is often promoted by platform algorithms.
• Add additional restrictions on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to possess tools designed to create private images without permission.
• Establish a new, separate oversight agency to conduct spot checks on pornography sites and respond to complaints of illegal content.

The campaigners contend that these steps would ensure the protections that have existed for decades offline finally apply to the online sphere.