UK Pornography Site Visits Declines After Identity Checks, Yet Virtual Private Network Usage Spikes, States Watchdog

Traffic to adult content websites in the United Kingdom has decreased markedly after the roll-out of mandatory age verification this summer, as reported by the country's communications watchdog. Concurrently, the use of specialist software designed to dodge these blocks has surged.

Sharp Drop in Visitor Numbers Following Law Implementation

The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July resulted in an swift fall in traffic to major pornography sites, including the most visited provider in the UK. Data indicates that user traffic to this platform in August stood at 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million compared to the same period in 2024.

In total, visitor numbers to the ten top adult services in the UK have now settled at a markedly decreased volume than before the end-of-July implementation date. Subsequent data indicates this decline in site visits persisted past August.

Surge in VPN Usage to Bypass Restrictions

Reacting to the new regulations, adoption of VPN software—which can bypass location-based restrictions by routing connections via another country—surged after 25 July.

User numbers peaked at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from around 650,000 users before the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has since fallen back, with latest numbers standing at around 900,000. It added that the volume of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for pornography sites.

Young People Taking Action to Harmful Material

Elsewhere, the watchdog's annual study revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering harmful content on the internet. Actions included flagging the material to the platform to muting the user who posted it.

This survey was carried out prior to new rules took effect that compel social media companies to prevent children from seeing dangerous content, such as material related to self-harm and adult material. The primary way teenagers came across such content was by looking through a platform timeline, indicating that algorithms were serving inappropriate material.

Ministers Announce Review of Pornography Laws

In a related development, the government stated it would review the criminal law relating to pornography to consider whether it is effective in the ever-developing digital age.

“The examination will investigate the effectiveness of the current law in regarding criminalising, for example, harmful portrayals of familial abuse and any types of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” said a justice minister.

Advocates Push For Stricter Online Regulations

Advocates for tighter control of adult content have called on the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote abuse by using young-looking performers portraying children.

Suggested changes to legislation seek to:

• Ban pornography where adults are mimicking children, often recorded 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.
• Introduce stricter controls on incest-themed pornography, which studies indicates is heavily recommended by site systems.
• Introduce further restrictions on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to own software designed to create non-consensual nude images.
• Establish a new, independent oversight agency to conduct spot checks on adult platforms and act on reports of illegal content.

The advocates argue that these steps would ensure the protections that have existed for years offline finally apply to the digital age.