UK Adult Content Traffic Falls Following Age Checks, Yet VPN Usage Surges, States Regulator

Visitor numbers to pornography sites in the United Kingdom has fallen significantly after the introduction of mandatory age verification this summer, as reported by the country's communications authority. Simultaneously, the adoption of tools designed to bypass these restrictions has surged.

Sharp Drop in User Numbers After Law Implementation

The introduction of age vetting on 25 July resulted in an swift decline in visits to major pornography sites, such as the most visited site in the UK. Data reveals that user traffic to this site in August were 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.

In total, visitor numbers to the 10 top adult services in the UK have now stabilized at a “lower level” than prior to the late July implementation date. Subsequent data shows this downward trend in viewing continued beyond August.

Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Usage to Bypass Restrictions

In response to the new regulations, use of VPN software—which can get around geographic restrictions by masking connections through another country—increased dramatically after 25 July.

User numbers reached a high at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from around 650,000 users prior to the checks began. Subsequently, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has since steadily declined, with current numbers standing at around 900,000. It clarified that the level of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for adult sites.

Teenagers Taking Action to Damaging Online Content

Elsewhere, the watchdog's report revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing damaging content online. Steps taken included reporting the material to the site to muting the person who shared it.

This survey was carried out before new regulations came into force that require platforms to prevent children from seeing harmful content, such as material related to self-harm and pornography. The primary way teenagers came across such content was by looking through a platform timeline, indicating that algorithms were showing harmful material.

Ministers Announce Review of Pornography Laws

Separately, the ministers announced it would review the legislation governing pornography to consider whether it is adequate in the ever-developing digital age.

“The examination will look into the efficacy of the current law in relation to making illegal, among other things, harmful portrayals of familial abuse and any types of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” said a government official.

Campaigners Push For Tighter Digital Controls

Advocates for better regulation of adult content have urged the authorities to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote child sexual abuse by casting youthful performers portraying children.

Suggested changes to government bills aim to:

• Ban pornography where adults are impersonating children, often recorded in environments like children’s bedrooms.
• Broaden the offence of making an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an adult plays the role of a child.
• Apply stricter controls on familial abuse pornography, which studies suggests is often promoted by platform systems.
• Introduce additional restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to own software designed to generate non-consensual nude images.
• Create a new, separate oversight agency to perform spot checks on adult platforms and act on reports of unlawful content.

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