UK Adult Content Traffic Falls Following Age Checks, Yet Virtual Private Network Usage Surges, Reports Regulator

Access to pornography websites in the UK has fallen significantly since the introduction of mandatory age verification earlier this year, as reported by the country's communications authority. Simultaneously, the usage of tools designed to dodge these barriers has risen.

Immediate Drop in Visitor Figures Following Law Enforcement

The introduction of age verification on 25 July resulted in an prompt decline in visits to popular pornography sites, including the top site in the UK. Data reveals that visitor numbers to this platform in August were 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million compared to the equivalent month in 2024.

Overall, traffic to the 10 most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a “lower level” than prior to the late July deadline. Later analysis indicates this decline in viewing persisted beyond August.

Surge in VPN Usage to Evade Checks

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

Usage peaked at over 1.4 million in mid-August, up from around 650,000 users before the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has since decreased, with latest numbers standing at around 900,000. It clarified that the level of regular VPN use is “much lower” than user numbers for adult services.

Teenagers Taking Action to Damaging Online Content

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

This research was conducted before new regulations came into force that require social media companies to prevent children from seeing harmful content, including material related to self-harm and pornography. The most common way young people encountered such content was by scrolling through a social media timeline, suggesting that recommendation systems were showing harmful material.

Ministers Announce Review of Adult Content Legislation

In a related development, the ministers stated it would examine the criminal law governing pornography to consider whether it is adequate in the modern digital age.

“The examination will investigate the effectiveness of the existing law in regarding criminalising, among other things, harmful depictions of incest and any types of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” said a government official.

Advocates Push For Tighter Digital Controls

Campaigners for tighter regulation of adult content have called on the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote abuse by using young-looking performers dressed as children.

Suggested amendments to legislation aim to:

• Prohibit pornography where adults are impersonating children, sometimes filmed in settings like children’s bedrooms.
• Broaden the offence of making an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an older performer plays the role of a child.
• Apply stricter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which studies suggests is often promoted by platform algorithms.
• Introduce further restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to possess software designed to generate private images without permission.
• Establish a new, independent oversight agency to perform inspections on pornography sites and act on complaints of illegal content.

The advocates contend that these measures would ensure the protections that have existed for decades offline finally are extended to the digital age.