British Adult Content Traffic Declines After Age Verifications, Yet VPN Use Surges, Reports Watchdog

Access to pornography sites in the UK has decreased markedly after the enforcement of age-checking measures earlier this year, as reported by the country's communications authority. At the same time, the use of specialist software designed to circumvent these restrictions has surged.

Immediate Drop in Visitor Numbers Following Rule Implementation

The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July resulted in an swift decline in traffic to popular online adult platforms, including the top provider in the UK. Data indicates that user traffic to this site in August stood at 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million compared to the same period in 2024.

Overall, visitor numbers to the 10 most-visited adult services in the UK have now stabilized at a markedly decreased volume than before the end-of-July implementation date. Later analysis shows this slump in viewing persisted beyond August.

Surge in VPN Usage to Bypass Restrictions

In response to the new regulations, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can bypass location-based blocks by routing internet traffic through another nation—increased dramatically following 25 July.

Usage peaked at over 1.4 million in mid-August, up from around 650,000 users prior to the checks were introduced. Subsequently, the regulator stated that VPN usage has afterwards fallen back, with current figures standing at approximately 900,000. It added that the level of regular VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for pornography sites.

Teenagers Responding to Harmful Online Content

In other findings, the regulator's report revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering damaging content on the internet. Steps taken included flagging the content to the platform to blocking the person who shared it.

This survey was carried out prior to new regulations took effect that require social media companies to prevent children from accessing dangerous content, including material related to suicide and adult material. The primary way teenagers encountered such content was by scrolling through a social media timeline, suggesting that algorithms were showing inappropriate material.

Government Launch Examination of Adult Content Laws

Separately, the government announced it would review the criminal law relating to pornography to assess whether it is adequate in the modern digital age.

“The review will look into the efficacy of the existing law in relation to making illegal, among other things, harmful depictions of familial abuse and any forms of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” said a justice minister.

Advocates Push For Stricter Online Regulations

Campaigners for better control of adult content have urged the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote abuse by casting youthful adults portraying children.

Suggested amendments to legislation seek to:

• Prohibit pornography where performers are mimicking children, sometimes recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
• Broaden the crime of making an indecent image of a child to include material where an older performer plays the role of a child.
• Introduce stricter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which studies suggests is heavily recommended by platform systems.
• Add further controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to own tools designed to create non-consensual nude images.
• Create a new, separate regulatory body to perform spot checks on pornography sites and respond to reports of illegal content.

The advocates contend that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for years in the physical world finally apply to the online sphere.