UK Adult Content Site Visits Declines Following Identity Verifications, Yet Virtual Private Network Usage Spikes, States Watchdog

Traffic to adult content sites in the United Kingdom has seen a notable drop after the enforcement of mandatory age verification this summer, according to the nation's communications watchdog. At the same time, the use of tools designed to bypass these restrictions has risen.

Immediate Fall in User Figures Following Rule Implementation

The enforcement of age verification on 25 July caused an swift fall in traffic to leading online adult platforms, such as the top provider in the UK. Figures shows that visitor numbers to this site in August reached 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million compared to the equivalent month in 2024.

Overall, traffic to the ten most-visited adult services in the UK have now stabilized at a “lower level” than before the late July deadline. Later data shows this slump in viewing persisted past August.

Sharp Increase in VPN Adoption to Evade Restrictions

Reacting to the new regulations, use of VPN software—which can bypass location-based restrictions by masking internet traffic through another nation—more than doubled following 25 July.

Usage peaked at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from around 650,000 people prior to the checks were introduced. Subsequently, the regulator stated that VPN usage has afterwards steadily declined, with latest figures at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the volume of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for adult sites.

Teenagers Taking Action to Harmful Material

In other findings, the watchdog's report revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing damaging content on the internet. Steps taken ranged from reporting the material to the platform to blocking the person who shared it.

This survey was carried out prior to new rules took effect that compel platforms to prevent children from accessing harmful content, including material related to self-harm and pornography. The primary way teenagers encountered such content was by looking through a platform feed, suggesting that recommendation systems were serving harmful material.

Government Announce Examination of Adult Content Legislation

Separately, the ministers stated it would review the criminal law relating to pornography to assess whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern online world.

“The examination will look into the effectiveness of the existing law in relation to criminalising, among other things, harmful portrayals of familial abuse and any types of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” stated a justice minister.

Advocates Push For Stricter Digital Controls

Campaigners for better control of online pornography have called on the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote abuse by casting young-looking performers dressed as children.

Suggested amendments to government bills aim to:

• Prohibit pornography where adults are impersonating children, often recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
• Extend the offence of making an indecent image of a child to include material where an adult plays the role of a child.
• Introduce stricter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which studies suggests is often promoted by site algorithms.
• Add additional controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to own tools designed to generate private images without permission.
• Establish a new, independent regulatory body to perform inspections on pornography sites and respond to reports of illegal content.

The campaigners contend that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for decades offline finally apply to the online sphere.