UK Adult Content Traffic Declines Following Identity Verifications, But VPN Use Surges, States Watchdog

Visitor numbers to pornography websites in the United Kingdom has seen a notable drop after the introduction of mandatory age verification earlier this year, according to the nation's communications watchdog. At the same time, the usage of specialist software designed to bypass these restrictions has surged.

Immediate Drop in Visitor Numbers After Law Enforcement

The introduction of age vetting on 25 July led to an prompt decline in visits to major online adult platforms, such as the most visited provider in the UK. Figures indicates that visitor numbers to this platform in August stood at 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024.

In total, visitor numbers to the ten most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a markedly decreased volume than before the end-of-July implementation date. Later data shows this downward trend in viewing persisted past August.

Sharp Increase in VPN Adoption to Bypass Restrictions

Reacting to the new rules, adoption of VPN software—which can bypass location-based blocks by routing internet traffic through another country—more than doubled after 25 July.

User numbers peaked at over 1.4 million in mid-August, up from approximately 650,000 users prior to the verification began. Subsequently, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has since steadily declined, with current numbers standing at approximately 900,000. It added that the level of regular VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for adult sites.

Teenagers Responding to Harmful Material

Elsewhere, the regulator's report revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering harmful content on the internet. Actions ranged from flagging the material to the site to blocking the user who shared it.

This survey was carried out prior to new rules came into force that require social media companies to stop children from accessing dangerous content, including material related to self-harm and adult material. The primary way teenagers encountered such content was by scrolling through a social media timeline, indicating that algorithms were serving harmful material.

Ministers Announce Examination of Pornography Legislation

In a related development, the ministers stated it would examine the criminal law governing pornography to assess whether it is effective in the modern online world.

“The review will investigate the effectiveness of the existing law in relation to making illegal, among other things, damaging portrayals of familial abuse and any types of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” said a government official.

Campaigners Call For Tighter Online Controls

Campaigners for better control of adult content have called on the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that encourages child sexual abuse by using young-looking adults 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.
• Apply stricter controls on incest-themed pornography, which studies indicates is often promoted by platform systems.
• Add additional restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to possess software designed to generate private images without permission.
• Establish a new, separate regulatory body to perform spot checks 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 offline finally apply to the online sphere.