UK Adult Content Site Visits Declines Following Age Verifications, But Virtual Private Network Use Spikes, Reports Watchdog
Traffic to pornography websites in the United Kingdom has decreased markedly after the enforcement of mandatory age verification this summer, according to the country's communications watchdog. At the same time, the adoption of tools designed to circumvent these restrictions has risen.
Immediate Fall in User Numbers Following Law Enforcement
The introduction of age verification on 25 July resulted in an prompt fall in visits to popular online adult platforms, including the most visited provider in the UK. Figures shows that user traffic to this site in August reached 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million compared to 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 prior to the end-of-July implementation date. Later analysis suggests this decline in site visits persisted past August.
Surge in VPN Usage to Evade Restrictions
In response to the new regulations, adoption of VPN software—which can get around location-based blocks by masking internet traffic through another nation—more than doubled after 25 July.
Usage peaked at over 1.4 million in mid-August, up from around 650,000 users prior to the checks began. However, the regulator stated that VPN usage has afterwards decreased, with latest numbers at around 900,000. It clarified that the volume of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for adult sites.
Young People Taking Action to Harmful Online Content
In other findings, the regulator's report revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering harmful content online. Actions included reporting the material to the site to muting the person who shared it.
This survey was conducted before new rules came into force that compel platforms to prevent children from seeing harmful content, such as material related to self-harm and adult material. The most common way young people came across such content was by looking through a social media feed, suggesting that recommendation systems were serving harmful material.
Government Launch Review of Pornography Legislation
Separately, the government stated it would examine the criminal law relating to pornography to consider whether it is effective in the modern online world.
“The examination will investigate the effectiveness of the existing law in relation to criminalising, among other things, harmful depictions of incest and any types of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” stated a justice minister.
Advocates Push For Tighter Online Controls
Campaigners for better control of online pornography have urged the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages abuse by casting young-looking adults dressed as children.
Suggested amendments to legislation seek to:
- Prohibit pornography where adults are mimicking children, sometimes recorded in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Broaden the crime of making an indecent image of a child to include material where an older performer acts the part of a child.
- Introduce tighter controls on incest-themed pornography, which research suggests is heavily recommended by site systems.
- Add additional restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to possess tools designed to create non-consensual nude images.
- Create a new, separate oversight agency to perform inspections on pornography sites and respond to reports of unlawful content.
The advocates argue that these steps would ensure the protections that have been enforced for decades in the physical world finally apply to the online sphere.
