UK Adult Content Site Visits Falls Following Identity Verifications, Yet VPN Usage Surges, Reports Watchdog

Access to adult content sites in the UK has fallen significantly since the introduction of mandatory age verification this summer, according to the nation's communications regulator. Concurrently, the use of tools designed to bypass these barriers has risen.

Immediate Drop in User Numbers After Rule Enforcement

The introduction of age verification on 25 July caused an prompt fall in traffic to popular pornography sites, such as the most visited provider in the UK. Data indicates that user traffic to this platform in August were 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million compared to the equivalent month in 2024.

Overall, visitor numbers to the 10 most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a “lower level” than prior to the late July implementation date. Subsequent analysis shows this decline in viewing persisted past August.

Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Usage to Bypass Checks

Reacting to the new regulations, adoption of VPN software—which can bypass geographic restrictions by routing connections through another nation—increased dramatically after 25 July.

Usage reached a high at more than 1.4 million in mid-August, up from around 650,000 people before the checks began. Subsequently, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has afterwards steadily declined, with current numbers standing at around 900,000. It added that the volume of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for pornography sites.

Teenagers Responding to Damaging Online Content

In other findings, the regulator's report revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing distressing content on the internet. Actions included reporting the content to the platform to muting the person who shared it.

This research was conducted prior to new rules took effect that require platforms to stop children from accessing harmful content, such as material related to self-harm and pornography. The most common way teenagers came across such content was by looking through a social media feed, suggesting that algorithms were showing inappropriate material.

Ministers Announce Review of Pornography Legislation

In a related development, the government stated it would review the legislation relating to pornography to consider whether it is adequate in the modern online world.

“The review will look into the effectiveness of the current law in relation to making illegal, for example, damaging portrayals of familial abuse and any forms of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” stated a justice minister.

Advocates Call For Tighter Digital Controls

Advocates for better control of adult content have urged 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 young-looking adults portraying children.

Suggested amendments to legislation aim to:

• Prohibit pornography where adults are impersonating children, sometimes filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
• Extend the offence of creating an indecent image of a child to include material where an older performer plays the role of a child.
• Apply tighter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which studies suggests is heavily recommended by site systems.
• Add additional controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to own software designed to create private images without permission.
• Establish a new, independent oversight agency to perform spot checks on pornography sites and respond to complaints of unlawful content.

The advocates argue that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for years offline finally are extended to the digital age.