UK Adult Content Site Visits Falls After Identity Verifications, Yet VPN Usage Surges, States Watchdog

Visitor numbers to adult content sites in the United Kingdom has seen a notable drop since the roll-out of age-checking measures earlier this year, as reported by the country's communications authority. At the same time, the usage of tools designed to circumvent these barriers has risen.

Immediate Drop in User Figures After Law Implementation

The introduction of age vetting on 25 July caused an swift decline in traffic to leading pornography sites, including the leading provider in the UK. Figures indicates that visitor numbers to this platform in August reached 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million compared to the equivalent month in 2024.

Overall, visitor numbers to the ten top pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a markedly decreased volume than before the end-of-July deadline. Subsequent analysis indicates this downward trend in viewing continued past August.

Sharp Increase in VPN Adoption to Evade Checks

Reacting to the new regulations, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can get around geographic restrictions by masking internet traffic via another country—more than doubled following 25 July.

User numbers reached a high at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from approximately 650,000 users before the verification began. Subsequently, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has since steadily declined, with latest numbers at approximately 900,000. It added that the volume of regular VPN use is “much lower” than user numbers for pornography sites.

Teenagers Responding to Harmful Online Content

Elsewhere, the watchdog's report revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering harmful content on the internet. Steps taken included flagging the material to the platform to muting the user who posted it.

This research was carried out prior to new rules came into force that compel social media companies to stop children from seeing dangerous content, such as material related to self-harm and pornography. The most common way teenagers came across such content was by scrolling through a social media timeline, suggesting that algorithms were showing inappropriate material.

Ministers Launch Examination of Adult Content Legislation

In a related development, the ministers announced it would review the criminal law governing pornography to consider whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern digital age.

“The examination will investigate the effectiveness of the existing law in regarding making illegal, among other things, harmful portrayals of incest and any forms of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” stated a justice minister.

Advocates Call For Tighter Digital Regulations

Advocates for tighter control of online pornography have called on the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote abuse by using youthful performers dressed as children.

Proposed changes to government bills 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 adult acts the part of a child.
• Introduce stricter controls on familial abuse pornography, which research indicates is often promoted by site systems.
• Introduce additional restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to own tools designed to create non-consensual nude images.
• Create a new, separate oversight agency to conduct inspections on pornography sites and respond to reports of illegal content.

The campaigners argue that these steps would ensure the protections that have existed for decades offline finally are extended to the online sphere.