UK Adult Content Site Visits Falls After Identity Checks, But VPN Usage Spikes, States Watchdog

Traffic to adult content websites in the United Kingdom has fallen significantly since the roll-out of mandatory age verification this summer, as reported by the country's communications regulator. Simultaneously, the adoption of tools designed to dodge these barriers has risen.

Sharp Fall in Visitor Figures After Rule Implementation

The enforcement of age verification on 25 July resulted in an immediate fall in traffic to leading online adult platforms, including the top provider in the UK. Figures shows that user traffic to this platform in August stood at 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million from the equivalent month 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 before the late July implementation date. Subsequent analysis indicates this slump in viewing continued beyond August.

Sharp Increase in VPN Adoption to Evade Restrictions

Reacting to the new rules, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can bypass location-based blocks by masking connections via another country—surged after 25 July.

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

Teenagers Taking Action to Harmful Material

Elsewhere, the regulator's report revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering harmful content online. Steps taken ranged from reporting the material to the platform to muting the person who posted it.

This survey was carried out prior to new rules took effect that compel platforms to prevent children from accessing harmful content, such as material related to self-harm and adult material. The most common way young people came across such content was by looking through a platform feed, suggesting that recommendation systems were showing inappropriate material.

Government Announce Examination of Pornography Legislation

In a related development, the government announced it would examine the criminal law relating to pornography to assess whether it is effective in the modern online world.

“The review will look into the efficacy of the existing law in regarding criminalising, for example, damaging depictions of familial abuse and any forms of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” said a government official.

Advocates Push For Tighter Online Regulations

Advocates for better control of adult content 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 performers portraying children.

Proposed amendments to government bills seek to:

• Ban pornography where performers are mimicking children, sometimes filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
• Extend the crime of making an indecent image of a child to cover material where an older performer acts the part of a child.
• Introduce tighter controls on incest-themed pornography, which research indicates is often promoted by site systems.
• Introduce additional controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to possess software designed to generate private images without permission.
• Establish a new, separate regulatory body to conduct spot checks on adult platforms and respond to reports of unlawful content.

The campaigners contend that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have existed for decades in the physical world finally apply to the digital age.