UK Adult Content Traffic Declines After Identity Verifications, Yet VPN Use Surges, Reports Regulator

Traffic to adult content websites in the United Kingdom has decreased markedly since the roll-out of age-checking measures earlier this year, according to the country's communications authority. At the same time, the use of specialist software designed to circumvent these blocks has risen.

Sharp Drop in Visitor Figures Following Law Implementation

The introduction of age verification on 25 July resulted in an swift fall in visits to leading online adult platforms, such as the most visited provider in the UK. Figures reveals that visitor numbers to this platform in August were 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million compared to the same period in 2024.

In total, visitor numbers to the 10 most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a markedly decreased volume than prior to the end-of-July deadline. Later analysis suggests this decline in site visits persisted beyond August.

Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Usage to Bypass Checks

Reacting to the new rules, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can circumvent geographic restrictions by routing internet traffic through another nation—surged following 25 July.

User numbers peaked at over 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from approximately 650,000 users prior to the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the regulator noted that VPN usage has since steadily declined, with current numbers at approximately 900,000. It added that the volume of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for adult services.

Teenagers Taking Action to Damaging Online Content

In other findings, the regulator's report revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing damaging content online. Steps taken included reporting the content to the platform to muting the user who posted it.

This research was conducted before new rules took effect that compel social media companies to stop children from seeing dangerous content, such as material related to self-harm and adult material. The most common way teenagers encountered such content was by scrolling through a social media feed, indicating that algorithms were serving harmful material.

Ministers Launch Review of Adult Content Laws

Separately, the ministers announced it would review the criminal law relating to pornography to consider whether it is adequate in the ever-developing online world.

“The review will look into the efficacy of the current law in relation to making illegal, for example, harmful portrayals of familial abuse and any types of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” said a government official.

Campaigners Call For Tighter Digital Regulations

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 appears to promote child sexual abuse by casting youthful adults dressed as children.

Suggested amendments to legislation aim to:

• Prohibit pornography where performers are impersonating children, often recorded in environments like children’s bedrooms.
• Extend the offence of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an older performer plays the role of a child.
• Apply tighter controls on familial abuse pornography, which research indicates is heavily recommended by platform algorithms.
• Add further restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to possess software designed to generate private images without permission.
• Create a new, independent oversight agency to conduct inspections on adult platforms and respond to reports of illegal content.

The advocates argue that these steps would ensure the protections that have been enforced for decades in the physical world finally apply to the online sphere.