UK Pornography Site Visits Declines After Identity Verifications, Yet Virtual Private Network Use Surges, States Watchdog

Traffic to adult content platforms in the United Kingdom has seen a notable drop since the roll-out of mandatory age verification this summer, as reported by the nation's communications watchdog. At the same time, the usage of tools designed to circumvent these restrictions has risen.

Sharp Fall in User Numbers Following Rule Enforcement

The introduction of age vetting on 25 July resulted in an immediate fall in visits to leading online adult platforms, including the leading provider in the UK. Data reveals that visitor numbers to this platform in August were 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024.

Overall, traffic to the 10 top pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a markedly decreased volume than before the end-of-July deadline. Later analysis suggests this slump in viewing continued past August.

Surge in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Evade Restrictions

In response to the new rules, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can bypass geographic blocks by masking connections through another nation—surged after 25 July.

User numbers peaked at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from around 650,000 users before the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the regulator noted that VPN usage has since fallen back, with latest figures standing at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the level of daily VPN use is “much lower” than user numbers for adult sites.

Teenagers Responding to Harmful Online Content

Elsewhere, the watchdog's annual study revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering distressing content online. Actions included flagging the content to the platform to blocking the person who posted it.

This survey was conducted before new regulations took effect that require platforms to stop children from seeing dangerous content, including material related to suicide and adult material. The most common way teenagers encountered such content was by scrolling through a social media timeline, suggesting that recommendation systems were showing harmful material.

Ministers Launch Examination of Adult Content Laws

Separately, the ministers announced it would examine the legislation governing pornography to consider whether it is adequate in the ever-developing digital age.

“The review will look into the efficacy of the existing law in regarding criminalising, among other things, damaging portrayals of incest and any types of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” stated a government official.

Campaigners Push For Tighter Online Controls

Advocates for better regulation of online pornography have called on the authorities to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote abuse by using youthful adults portraying children.

Proposed changes to legislation seek to:

• Ban pornography where performers are mimicking children, sometimes recorded in environments like children’s bedrooms.
• Extend the crime of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an older performer acts the part of a child.
• Apply stricter controls on familial abuse pornography, which studies indicates is often promoted by platform algorithms.
• Introduce further controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to own tools designed to create non-consensual nude images.
• Establish a new, separate regulatory body to perform spot checks on pornography sites and respond to complaints of illegal 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 online sphere.