UK Adult Content Traffic Falls After Age Checks, Yet Virtual Private Network Use Surges, Reports Regulator
Visitor numbers to adult content websites in the United Kingdom has decreased markedly since the roll-out of mandatory age verification earlier this year, as reported by the nation's communications authority. At the same time, the adoption of specialist software designed to dodge these blocks has surged.
Sharp Fall in Visitor Numbers After Law Enforcement
The introduction of age vetting on 25 July led to an immediate reduction in visits to major online adult platforms, such as the top provider in the UK. Data reveals that visitor numbers to this site in August stood at 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million compared to the same period in 2024.
Overall, traffic to the 10 top pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a significantly reduced level than before the end-of-July deadline. Subsequent data shows this slump in viewing persisted beyond August.
Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Usage to Bypass Restrictions
In response to the new rules, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can circumvent location-based blocks by routing internet traffic via another nation—more than doubled following 25 July.
Usage peaked at over 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from around 650,000 users prior to the checks began. However, the regulator noted that VPN usage has since decreased, with current numbers at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the level of regular VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for pornography services.
Teenagers Responding to Harmful Online Content
In other findings, the watchdog's report revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing distressing content on the internet. Actions ranged from flagging the content to the platform to blocking the user who posted it.
This research was carried out prior to new regulations took effect that compel platforms to stop children from accessing harmful content, including material related to suicide and pornography. The most common way teenagers came across such content was by looking through a platform feed, suggesting that recommendation systems were serving harmful material.
Government Announce Examination of Adult Content Legislation
In a related development, the ministers stated it would examine the criminal law relating to pornography to consider whether it is effective in the ever-developing online world.
“The review will investigate the effectiveness of the current law in relation to criminalising, for example, damaging depictions of familial abuse and any forms of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” stated a government official.
Advocates Call For Stricter Digital Controls
Campaigners for better control of adult content have urged the authorities to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring incest scenes or that encourages abuse by using young-looking adults dressed as children.
Suggested changes to government bills seek to:
- Prohibit pornography where adults are mimicking children, sometimes recorded in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the offence of creating an indecent image of a child to cover material where an adult plays the role of a child.
- Apply stricter regulation on familial abuse pornography, which research suggests is heavily recommended by platform algorithms.
- Add further restrictions on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to possess tools designed to generate private images without permission.
- Establish a new, separate oversight agency to conduct spot checks on adult platforms and respond to reports of unlawful content.
The campaigners argue that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have existed for years offline finally apply to the online sphere.
