British Adult Content Traffic Declines After Identity Checks, Yet VPN Usage Spikes, Reports Watchdog

Visitor numbers to adult content platforms in the United Kingdom has fallen significantly after the roll-out of age-checking measures this summer, according to the country's communications authority. At the same time, the adoption of specialist software designed to circumvent these barriers has risen.

Immediate Fall in User Numbers After Law Implementation

The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July resulted in an swift decline in visits to leading pornography sites, such as the leading site in the UK. Data reveals that user traffic to this site in August stood at 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million compared to the equivalent month in 2024.

In total, visitor numbers to the 10 top pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a “lower level” than prior to the end-of-July deadline. Subsequent analysis suggests this downward trend in viewing continued beyond August.

Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Usage to Bypass Restrictions

In response to the new rules, adoption of VPN software—which can get around geographic blocks by masking connections through another nation—increased dramatically following 25 July.

User numbers reached a high at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from around 650,000 people before the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the regulator noted that VPN usage has afterwards steadily declined, with latest figures at approximately 900,000. It added that the level of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for adult services.

Teenagers Taking Action to Damaging Material

In other findings, the watchdog's report found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering damaging content online. Actions ranged from reporting the material to the site to muting the person who posted it.

This survey was conducted prior to new regulations took effect that compel social media companies to prevent children from seeing dangerous content, such as material related to self-harm and pornography. The most common way teenagers encountered such content was by looking through a platform feed, suggesting that algorithms were showing harmful material.

Ministers Announce 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 ever-developing online world.

“The review will look into the efficacy of the current law in relation to criminalising, for example, damaging portrayals of incest and any types of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” stated a government official.

Campaigners Push For Stricter Online Controls

Advocates for tighter regulation of adult content have called on the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote child sexual abuse by casting youthful performers dressed as children.

Suggested amendments to legislation seek to:

• Ban pornography where adults are mimicking children, often recorded in environments like children’s bedrooms.
• Broaden the offence of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an adult plays the role of a child.
• Introduce tighter controls on incest-themed pornography, which studies suggests is often promoted by site algorithms.
• Add additional controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to possess software designed to create private images without permission.
• Establish a new, independent regulatory body to conduct inspections on adult platforms and respond to reports of unlawful content.

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