British Adult Content Site Visits Falls Following Age Checks, Yet VPN Usage Surges, Reports Watchdog

Access to adult content sites in the UK has decreased markedly since the introduction of mandatory age verification earlier this year, as reported by the country's communications regulator. Concurrently, the usage of tools designed to dodge these restrictions has increased.

Immediate Fall in User Figures After Rule Enforcement

The introduction of age verification on 25 July caused an prompt reduction in visits to leading pornography sites, such as the top provider in the UK. Figures reveals that visitor numbers to this platform in August were 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024.

In total, traffic to the 10 most-visited adult services in the UK have now settled at a markedly decreased volume than before the end-of-July implementation date. Subsequent analysis indicates this slump in site visits continued past August.

Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Evade Restrictions

Reacting to the new rules, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can get around geographic blocks by masking internet traffic via another country—increased dramatically following 25 July.

User numbers peaked at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from approximately 650,000 users before the checks began. Subsequently, the regulator stated that VPN usage has since fallen back, with current numbers standing at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the volume of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for pornography sites.

Young People Taking Action to Damaging Online Content

In other findings, the regulator's report found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering harmful content online. Actions included reporting the content to the site to blocking the user who shared it.

This research was conducted before new rules came into force that require social media companies to stop children from accessing dangerous content, such as material related to self-harm and pornography. The most common way teenagers encountered such content was by looking through a social media timeline, suggesting that recommendation systems were showing inappropriate material.

Ministers Launch Examination of Adult Content Legislation

In a related development, the government stated it would examine the criminal law governing pornography to assess whether it is effective in the ever-developing online world.

“The examination will investigate the effectiveness of the existing law in regarding making illegal, for example, damaging portrayals of familial abuse and any types of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” said a justice minister.

Campaigners Push For Stricter Digital Controls

Campaigners for better regulation of adult content have called on the government 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 dressed as children.

Suggested changes to legislation seek to:

• Ban pornography where performers are impersonating children, sometimes recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
• Extend the offence of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an older performer acts the part of a child.
• Introduce stricter controls on incest-themed pornography, which research suggests is often promoted by platform systems.
• Add further restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to possess tools designed to generate private images without permission.
• Establish a new, independent oversight agency 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 decades in the physical world finally apply to the digital age.