UK Adult Content Site Visits Declines Following Age Verifications, Yet VPN Usage Spikes, Reports Watchdog

Access to pornography websites in the United Kingdom has fallen significantly since the enforcement of age-checking measures this summer, as reported by the country's communications authority. Simultaneously, the usage of tools designed to circumvent these blocks has increased.

Sharp Drop in Visitor Figures After Rule Enforcement

The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July caused an immediate decline in visits to leading pornography sites, including the most visited provider in the UK. Data reveals that visitor numbers to this site in August were 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.

Overall, traffic to the 10 most-visited adult services in the UK have now stabilized at a markedly decreased volume than before the end-of-July deadline. Subsequent data shows this slump in site visits continued beyond August.

Surge in VPN Adoption to Evade Checks

Reacting to the new regulations, adoption of VPN software—which can bypass location-based restrictions by masking internet traffic through another country—surged after 25 July.

User numbers peaked at over 1.4 million in mid-August, up from around 650,000 people before the checks were introduced. Subsequently, the regulator stated that VPN usage has afterwards fallen back, with latest figures at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the volume of regular VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for pornography sites.

Young People Responding to Damaging Material

In other findings, the watchdog's annual study found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing damaging content on the internet. Actions included reporting the content to the site to muting the user who shared it.

This survey was carried out before new rules took effect that require social media companies to prevent children from accessing dangerous content, such as material related to suicide and adult material. The most common way young people encountered such content was by looking through a social media feed, suggesting that recommendation systems were serving inappropriate material.

Government Announce Review of Pornography Laws

Separately, the government stated it would review the criminal law governing pornography to assess whether it is effective in the ever-developing digital age.

“The examination will look into the effectiveness of the existing law in regarding criminalising, among other things, damaging portrayals of incest and any forms of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” said a justice minister.

Advocates Push For Stricter Digital Regulations

Advocates for tighter control of adult content have urged the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote abuse by casting youthful adults portraying children.

Suggested changes to government bills aim to:

• Ban pornography where performers are impersonating children, sometimes filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
• Extend the crime of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an adult acts the part of a child.
• Introduce stricter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which studies indicates is often promoted by site systems.
• Introduce further controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to own tools designed to create non-consensual nude images.
• Establish a new, independent oversight agency to conduct inspections on pornography sites and act on complaints of unlawful content.

The campaigners contend that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for decades in the physical world finally are extended to the digital age.