UK Pornography Site Visits Falls Following Age Checks, But Virtual Private Network Use Spikes, Reports Regulator

Visitor numbers to adult content websites in the UK has decreased markedly since the introduction of mandatory age verification earlier this year, as reported by the nation's communications watchdog. Simultaneously, the usage of specialist software designed to circumvent these barriers has surged.

Sharp Drop in User Numbers After Rule Enforcement

The introduction of age verification on 25 July caused an immediate reduction in visits to major online adult platforms, including the leading site in the UK. Data reveals that visitor numbers to this site in August reached 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.

Overall, traffic to the 10 most-visited adult services in the UK have now stabilized at a markedly decreased volume than prior to the end-of-July deadline. Later analysis shows this decline in site visits continued beyond August.

Surge in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Bypass Checks

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

User numbers reached a high at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from approximately 650,000 users prior to the checks began. However, the regulator noted that VPN usage has since decreased, with latest figures at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the volume of daily VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for adult services.

Teenagers Responding to Damaging Material

Elsewhere, the watchdog's annual study revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering distressing content on the internet. Actions ranged from reporting the material to the site to blocking the user who shared it.

This research was conducted before new regulations took effect that require social media companies 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 scrolling through a social media timeline, suggesting that recommendation systems were serving harmful material.

Ministers Launch Examination of Pornography Legislation

In a related development, the government stated it would review the legislation governing pornography to assess whether it is effective in the ever-developing digital age.

“The review will investigate the effectiveness of the current law in relation to criminalising, for example, harmful portrayals of incest and any forms 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 government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote child sexual abuse by using young-looking performers portraying children.

Proposed changes to legislation aim to:

• Ban pornography where performers are impersonating children, sometimes recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
• Broaden the crime of creating an indecent image of a child to include material where an older performer plays the role of a child.
• Apply tighter controls on familial abuse pornography, which studies suggests is often promoted by platform algorithms.
• Introduce further controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to own software designed to create private images without permission.
• Establish a new, separate regulatory body to conduct spot checks on pornography sites and act on reports of illegal content.

The campaigners contend that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have existed for years offline finally apply to the online sphere.