British Adult Content Site Visits Declines Following Age Verifications, Yet Virtual Private Network Use Spikes, Reports Regulator

Access to pornography websites in the United Kingdom has fallen significantly after the roll-out of age-checking measures this summer, as reported by the country's communications watchdog. At the same time, the use of tools designed to circumvent these blocks has risen.

Sharp Fall in Visitor Numbers Following Rule Implementation

The enforcement of age verification on 25 July resulted in an swift fall in traffic to popular online adult platforms, including the leading site in the UK. Figures reveals that user traffic to this platform in August reached 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024.

Overall, visitor numbers to the 10 top adult services in the UK have now settled at a markedly decreased volume than before the end-of-July implementation date. Later data shows this slump in viewing continued beyond August.

Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Evade Restrictions

Reacting to the new rules, adoption of VPN software—which can circumvent location-based blocks by routing connections via another nation—increased dramatically following 25 July.

User numbers reached a high at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from around 650,000 users prior to the checks began. However, the regulator noted that VPN usage has afterwards steadily declined, with latest numbers standing at around 900,000. It added that the volume of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for adult sites.

Young People Responding to Damaging Online Content

Elsewhere, the watchdog's annual study revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering distressing content online. Steps taken included reporting the content to the platform to muting the person who posted it.

This research was conducted prior to new rules took effect that require social media companies to prevent children from accessing harmful content, including material related to self-harm and pornography. The most common way teenagers came across such content was by looking through a social media timeline, indicating that recommendation systems were serving harmful material.

Ministers Announce Examination of Pornography Laws

In a related development, the government stated it would review the criminal law governing pornography to assess whether it is “fit for purpose” in the ever-developing online world.

“The review will investigate the efficacy of the current law in relation to making illegal, among other things, harmful depictions of incest and any forms of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” stated a government official.

Campaigners Push For Tighter Online Controls

Advocates for tighter control of online pornography have called on the authorities to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring incest scenes or that encourages child sexual abuse by casting youthful adults dressed as children.

Suggested changes to legislation seek to:

• Prohibit pornography where adults are impersonating children, often filmed in settings like children’s bedrooms.
• Broaden the offence of creating an indecent image of a child to cover material where an older performer acts the part of a child.
• Introduce tighter controls on familial abuse pornography, which studies indicates is often promoted by site systems.
• Add further controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to own tools designed to create non-consensual nude images.
• Establish a new, independent regulatory body to perform inspections on pornography sites and respond to complaints of illegal content.

The advocates contend that these steps would ensure the protections that have been enforced for years offline finally are extended to the digital age.