British Adult Content Site Visits Falls After Age Checks, Yet Virtual Private Network Usage Surges, Reports Watchdog

Access to adult content websites in the UK has seen a notable drop after the enforcement of age-checking measures this summer, according to the nation's communications authority. Simultaneously, the adoption of specialist software designed to dodge these barriers has risen.

Immediate Fall in User Numbers Following Law Implementation

The introduction of age vetting on 25 July caused an immediate fall in traffic to popular pornography sites, such as the top provider in the UK. Figures indicates that visitor numbers to this site in August were 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million from the equivalent month in 2024.

Overall, traffic to the 10 most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now stabilized at a significantly reduced level than prior to the end-of-July deadline. Subsequent analysis shows this decline in viewing persisted beyond August.

Surge in VPN Adoption to Evade Checks

In response to the new regulations, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can bypass geographic restrictions by masking connections through another nation—increased dramatically following 25 July.

Usage peaked at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from approximately 650,000 users prior to the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has afterwards fallen back, with latest numbers at approximately 900,000. It added that the volume of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for adult services.

Young People Responding to Harmful Online Content

Elsewhere, the regulator's annual study found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing harmful content online. Steps taken ranged from reporting the material to the platform to blocking the person who posted it.

This research was conducted before new regulations came into force that require platforms to prevent children from seeing dangerous content, such as material related to self-harm and adult material. The most common way teenagers came across such content was by scrolling through a platform timeline, suggesting that recommendation systems were showing inappropriate material.

Ministers Launch Review of Pornography Laws

In a related development, the ministers announced it would examine the legislation governing pornography to consider whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern digital age.

“The review will look into the efficacy of the existing law in relation to criminalising, for example, harmful portrayals of incest and any forms of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” stated a justice minister.

Campaigners Push For Tighter Online Regulations

Campaigners for better regulation of adult content have called on the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages child sexual abuse by casting young-looking performers portraying children.

Suggested amendments to legislation aim to:

• Ban pornography where adults are mimicking children, often filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
• Broaden the offence of making an indecent image of a child to include material where an adult acts the part of a child.
• Apply tighter controls on familial abuse pornography, which research suggests is often promoted by platform systems.
• Introduce additional restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to own software designed to create non-consensual nude images.
• Create a new, independent regulatory body to conduct spot checks on adult platforms and act on reports of unlawful content.

The campaigners contend that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have existed for years offline finally apply to the online sphere.