UK Pornography Site Visits Falls After Identity Checks, But VPN Use Spikes, States Watchdog

Traffic to adult content platforms in the UK has seen a notable drop since the introduction of mandatory age verification this summer, according to the country's communications regulator. Simultaneously, the usage of specialist software designed to dodge these blocks has risen.

Immediate Fall in Visitor Numbers Following Rule Implementation

The introduction of age vetting on 25 July led to an prompt reduction in visits to leading online adult platforms, including the top site in the UK. Data indicates that visitor numbers to this platform in August stood at 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million compared to the same period in 2024.

In total, traffic to the ten most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a significantly reduced level than prior to the end-of-July implementation date. Subsequent analysis suggests this downward trend in viewing persisted past August.

Surge in Virtual Private Network Usage to Bypass Checks

In response to the new rules, use of VPN software—which can circumvent location-based restrictions by routing connections via another nation—more than doubled following 25 July.

Usage reached a high at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from around 650,000 users before the checks were introduced. However, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has afterwards decreased, with latest numbers at around 900,000. It clarified that the volume of daily VPN use is “much lower” than user numbers for pornography sites.

Teenagers Responding to Damaging Online Content

Elsewhere, the regulator's report found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering distressing content on the internet. Actions included flagging the content to the platform to blocking the user who posted it.

This survey was carried out before new regulations came into force that compel social media companies to prevent children from accessing harmful content, such as material related to suicide and adult material. The primary way young people encountered such content was by scrolling through a platform feed, suggesting that recommendation systems were showing inappropriate material.

Ministers Announce Examination of Adult Content Laws

In a related development, the government announced it would examine the legislation relating to pornography to consider whether it is adequate in the modern online world.

“The review will look into the efficacy of the current law in regarding criminalising, among other things, damaging depictions of familial abuse and any types of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” said a justice minister.

Advocates Push For Stricter Digital Regulations

Campaigners 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 young-looking adults dressed as children.

Proposed amendments to government bills aim to:

• Prohibit pornography where adults are impersonating children, often recorded in environments like children’s bedrooms.
• Broaden the crime of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an adult acts the part of a child.
• Introduce stricter controls on incest-themed pornography, which studies indicates is often promoted by platform systems.
• Introduce further restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to possess tools designed to generate non-consensual nude images.
• Create a new, independent regulatory body to perform spot checks on pornography sites and respond to complaints of illegal content.

The campaigners argue that these measures would ensure the protections that have been enforced for years in the physical world finally apply to the online sphere.