UK Adult Content Site Visits Falls After Age Checks, Yet VPN Use Surges, States Regulator

Visitor numbers to pornography websites in the UK has seen a notable drop since the enforcement of mandatory age verification this summer, as reported by the nation's communications regulator. At the same time, the use of tools designed to bypass these barriers has risen.

Sharp Drop in Visitor Numbers After Rule Enforcement

The introduction of age verification on 25 July caused an prompt reduction in traffic to major pornography sites, such as the leading site in the UK. Data indicates that user traffic to this site in August reached 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.

Overall, visitor numbers to the ten top adult services in the UK have now stabilized at a markedly decreased volume than prior to the end-of-July deadline. Subsequent analysis suggests this decline in site visits continued past August.

Surge in VPN Usage to Evade Checks

Reacting to the new regulations, adoption of VPN software—which can bypass geographic blocks by routing internet traffic via another country—more than doubled after 25 July.

Usage peaked at more than 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from approximately 650,000 users prior to the verification began. Subsequently, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has since decreased, with latest numbers standing at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the level of daily VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for pornography sites.

Young People Taking Action to Harmful Material

Elsewhere, the regulator's report found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing harmful content on the internet. Actions included flagging the content to the platform to blocking the person who shared it.

This research was conducted prior to new regulations took effect that compel platforms to stop children from accessing dangerous content, such as material related to self-harm and adult material. The primary way teenagers came across such content was by looking through a social media timeline, indicating that algorithms were showing inappropriate material.

Ministers Launch Review of Pornography Laws

In a related development, the ministers announced it would review the criminal law governing pornography to assess whether it is adequate in the ever-developing online world.

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

Campaigners Push For Stricter Online Controls

Campaigners for tighter regulation of adult content have urged the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that encourages child sexual abuse by using youthful adults portraying children.

Suggested amendments to legislation seek to:

• Prohibit pornography where adults are mimicking children, sometimes recorded in environments like children’s bedrooms.
• Broaden the offence of creating an indecent image of a child to include material where an adult plays the role of a child.
• Apply stricter regulation on familial abuse pornography, which research indicates is often promoted by platform systems.
• Introduce additional restrictions on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to possess software designed to create private images without permission.
• Create a new, separate regulatory body to perform spot checks on adult platforms and act on reports of illegal content.

The campaigners contend that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for years offline finally apply to the digital age.