UK Adult Content Site Visits Falls Following Identity Checks, But VPN Usage Spikes, States Watchdog

Visitor numbers to pornography platforms in the United Kingdom has decreased markedly after the introduction of mandatory age verification this summer, according to the nation's communications regulator. At the same time, the adoption of tools designed to circumvent these blocks has surged.

Sharp Fall in User Figures Following Rule Implementation

The introduction of age vetting on 25 July led to an immediate reduction in visits to popular pornography sites, including the most visited site in the UK. Figures reveals 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 10 top pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a significantly reduced level than prior to the end-of-July deadline. Subsequent analysis indicates this decline in site visits persisted beyond August.

Surge in VPN Adoption to Bypass Restrictions

In response to the new rules, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can bypass geographic restrictions by routing internet traffic through another nation—increased dramatically after 25 July.

User numbers reached a high at more than 1.4 million in mid-August, up from approximately 650,000 people prior to the checks were introduced. Subsequently, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has afterwards fallen back, with latest figures standing at approximately 900,000. It added that the level of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for adult services.

Young People Responding to Harmful Material

Elsewhere, the regulator's report revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing damaging content online. Actions included reporting the material to the site to blocking the person who shared it.

This survey was conducted before new regulations took effect that compel social media companies to prevent children from accessing harmful content, including material related to self-harm and adult material. The primary way teenagers encountered such content was by scrolling through a social media timeline, indicating that algorithms were serving inappropriate material.

Government Launch Review of Adult Content Legislation

In a related development, the ministers announced it would review the legislation relating to pornography to consider whether it is “fit for purpose” in the ever-developing digital age.

“The review will look into the effectiveness of the existing law in regarding criminalising, for example, damaging portrayals of incest and any forms of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” stated a justice minister.

Advocates Push For Stricter Online Controls

Advocates for tighter regulation of adult content have called on the authorities to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages child sexual abuse by casting young-looking adults portraying children.

Proposed changes to legislation seek to:

• Prohibit pornography where adults are impersonating children, sometimes filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
• Extend the offence of making an indecent image of a child to cover material where an adult acts the part of a child.
• Apply tighter controls on familial abuse pornography, which research indicates is heavily recommended by platform algorithms.
• Add additional restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to possess software designed to create non-consensual nude images.
• Establish a new, separate oversight agency to conduct inspections on adult platforms and act on reports of unlawful content.

The advocates contend that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for years offline finally are extended to the online sphere.