UK Adult Content Traffic Declines Following Identity Checks, But Virtual Private Network Usage Spikes, States Regulator

Visitor numbers to pornography websites in the United Kingdom has fallen significantly since the roll-out of age-checking measures this summer, as reported by the country's communications authority. Concurrently, the adoption of specialist software designed to circumvent these restrictions has increased.

Sharp Drop in User Figures After Rule Enforcement

The introduction of age verification on 25 July caused an swift reduction in traffic to major online adult platforms, such as the leading provider in the UK. Figures indicates that visitor numbers to this site in August reached 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.

Overall, traffic to the 10 most-visited adult services in the UK have now settled at a markedly decreased volume than before the late July implementation date. Later data suggests this decline in site visits persisted past August.

Sharp Increase in VPN Adoption to Bypass Checks

In response to the new rules, adoption of VPN software—which can bypass location-based blocks by routing connections via another nation—increased dramatically after 25 July.

User numbers reached a high at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from approximately 650,000 users prior to the checks began. Subsequently, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has since steadily declined, with latest numbers at around 900,000. It clarified that the level of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for pornography services.

Teenagers Responding to Harmful Online Content

Elsewhere, the regulator's report revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering distressing content on the internet. Steps taken included reporting the material to the platform to muting the user who posted it.

This research was carried out prior to new rules took effect that require social media companies to prevent children from accessing dangerous content, including material related to suicide and pornography. The primary way teenagers encountered such content was by scrolling through a platform timeline, indicating that recommendation systems were serving harmful material.

Government Launch Examination of Adult Content Laws

Separately, the government stated it would review the legislation relating to pornography to assess whether it is “fit for purpose” in the ever-developing digital age.

“The examination will investigate the efficacy of the existing law in relation to criminalising, for example, harmful portrayals of incest and any types of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” said a justice minister.

Campaigners Call For Stricter Online Controls

Advocates for tighter regulation of adult content have called on the government to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages abuse by casting young-looking performers portraying children.

Suggested changes to legislation seek to:

• Ban pornography where adults are impersonating children, sometimes filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
• Broaden the crime of making an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an older performer acts the part of a child.
• Introduce stricter controls on familial abuse pornography, which research indicates is often promoted by site algorithms.
• Introduce additional controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to own tools designed to generate private images without permission.
• Create a new, independent regulatory body to perform spot checks on adult platforms and act on complaints of illegal content.

The advocates argue that these steps would ensure the protections that have existed for years in the physical world finally are extended to the digital age.