UK Pornography Traffic Declines After Age Verifications, Yet VPN Usage Spikes, States Watchdog

Access to adult content sites in the UK has seen a notable drop after the enforcement of age-checking measures earlier this year, according to the country's communications regulator. Concurrently, the usage of specialist software designed to bypass these blocks has risen.

Immediate Drop in Visitor Figures After Rule Enforcement

The introduction of age verification on 25 July led to an prompt fall in traffic to leading pornography sites, such as the most visited site in the UK. Figures shows that user traffic to this site in August stood at 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.

Overall, visitor numbers to the ten top adult services in the UK have now settled at a “lower level” than before the late July deadline. Subsequent data indicates this decline in site visits continued beyond August.

Surge in VPN Adoption to Evade Restrictions

In response to the new regulations, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can bypass geographic blocks by routing connections via another country—more than doubled after 25 July.

User numbers peaked at more than 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from approximately 650,000 people prior to the checks were introduced. Subsequently, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has since decreased, with latest figures standing at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the volume of daily VPN use is “much lower” than user numbers for adult sites.

Young People Taking Action to Damaging Material

In other findings, the watchdog's annual study found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing damaging content online. Actions included reporting the content to the platform to muting the person who shared it.

This survey was carried out prior to new rules came into force that require platforms to prevent children from seeing harmful content, such as material related to self-harm and adult material. The primary way young people came across such content was by scrolling through a platform timeline, indicating that recommendation systems were serving inappropriate material.

Ministers Launch Review of Adult Content Legislation

Separately, the government announced it would examine the legislation relating to pornography to assess whether it is effective in the modern digital age.

“The examination will look into the efficacy of the current law in regarding making illegal, for example, harmful portrayals of incest and any forms of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” stated a justice minister.

Campaigners Call For Stricter Online Controls

Campaigners for tighter control of online pornography have urged the authorities to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote child sexual abuse by casting young-looking adults portraying children.

Suggested amendments to government bills seek to:

• Prohibit pornography where performers are impersonating children, often filmed in settings like children’s bedrooms.
• Broaden the crime of making an indecent image of a child to include material where an adult plays the role of a child.
• Introduce stricter controls on incest-themed pornography, which research suggests is heavily recommended by platform algorithms.
• Introduce additional controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to possess tools designed to create private images without permission.
• Establish a new, separate oversight agency to conduct inspections on adult platforms and respond to reports of illegal content.

The campaigners contend that these steps would ensure the protections that have existed for decades in the physical world finally are extended to the digital age.