UK Adult Content Traffic Falls Following Age Checks, But VPN Usage Surges, Reports Regulator

Access to adult content sites in the United Kingdom has seen a notable drop since the introduction of mandatory age verification this summer, according to the nation's communications authority. At the same time, the usage of specialist software designed to bypass these barriers has surged.

Sharp Fall in Visitor Numbers After Rule Enforcement

The enforcement of age verification on 25 July caused an swift reduction in visits to major online adult platforms, including the leading site in the UK. Figures indicates that visitor numbers to this site in August reached 9.8 million, a decrease 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 “lower level” than prior to the late July deadline. Subsequent analysis shows this decline in viewing persisted past August.

Sharp Increase in VPN Adoption to Evade Checks

Reacting to the new rules, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can get around location-based blocks by masking connections via another nation—more than doubled following 25 July.

User numbers reached a high at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from around 650,000 users prior to the verification were introduced. However, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has since decreased, with current numbers standing at around 900,000. It clarified that the volume of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for pornography sites.

Young People Responding to Harmful Material

Elsewhere, the watchdog's annual study found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering harmful content online. Actions ranged from flagging the content to the platform to blocking the person who shared it.

This research was carried out prior to new regulations took effect that compel social media companies to prevent children from accessing dangerous content, including material related to self-harm and adult material. The most common way young people encountered such content was by looking through a social media feed, suggesting that algorithms were serving inappropriate material.

Ministers Announce Examination of Pornography Laws

Separately, the government stated it would examine the criminal law governing pornography to consider whether it is adequate in the modern online world.

“The examination will investigate the efficacy of the existing law in regarding criminalising, among other things, harmful depictions of incest and any forms of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” said a justice minister.

Campaigners Call For Stricter Online Regulations

Campaigners for tighter control of online pornography have urged the authorities to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages abuse by using young-looking performers portraying children.

Suggested changes to government bills seek to:

• Prohibit pornography where performers are mimicking children, often filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
• Broaden the crime of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an older performer plays the role of a child.
• Apply tighter controls on familial abuse pornography, which research indicates is heavily recommended by platform systems.
• Add further restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to own software designed to create private images without permission.
• Create a new, independent oversight agency to perform spot checks on pornography sites and act on reports of illegal content.

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