British Adult Content Site Visits Declines Following Identity Checks, Yet Virtual Private Network Usage Surges, States Regulator

Visitor numbers to adult content platforms in the United Kingdom has decreased markedly after the introduction of mandatory age verification earlier this year, as reported by the country's communications watchdog. Simultaneously, the adoption of tools designed to circumvent these blocks has risen.

Sharp Fall in Visitor Figures Following Law Implementation

The introduction of age verification on 25 July resulted in an swift decline in traffic to major online adult platforms, such as the most visited provider in the UK. Data indicates that user traffic to this site in August were 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million compared to the equivalent month in 2024.

In total, traffic to the 10 top pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a “lower level” than before the end-of-July implementation date. Later data shows this decline in site visits persisted past August.

Sharp Increase in VPN Adoption to Evade Restrictions

Reacting to the new regulations, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can bypass location-based blocks by masking connections through another nation—more than doubled following 25 July.

Usage reached a high at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from approximately 650,000 people before the verification began. Subsequently, the regulator noted that VPN usage has afterwards decreased, with latest figures at around 900,000. It clarified that the level of daily VPN use is “much lower” than user numbers for pornography services.

Teenagers Taking Action to Harmful Online Content

In other findings, the watchdog's report found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing distressing content online. Steps taken included flagging the material to the platform to muting the user who posted it.

This survey was carried out prior to new regulations took effect that require platforms to stop 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 scrolling through a platform feed, suggesting that algorithms were showing harmful material.

Ministers Announce Review of Pornography Legislation

In a related development, the government announced it would examine the legislation governing pornography to consider whether it is effective in the modern online world.

“The review will look into the efficacy of the current law in regarding making illegal, for example, harmful depictions of familial abuse and any types of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” stated a government official.

Campaigners Push For Tighter Online Controls

Campaigners for tighter regulation of online pornography have urged the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages child sexual abuse by casting youthful adults portraying children.

Proposed changes to government bills seek to:

• Prohibit pornography where performers are impersonating children, often recorded in environments like children’s bedrooms.
• Extend the offence of creating an indecent image of a child to cover material where an older performer acts the part of a child.
• Introduce tighter controls on familial abuse pornography, which studies indicates is often promoted by platform algorithms.
• Introduce further restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to own software designed to create non-consensual nude images.
• Create a new, independent oversight agency to perform spot checks on adult platforms and act on reports of illegal content.

The advocates argue that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have existed for decades in the physical world finally apply to the online sphere.