UK Adult Content Site Visits Declines After Age Checks, Yet Virtual Private Network Usage Surges, States Regulator

Access to pornography websites in the UK has decreased markedly after the enforcement of mandatory age verification this summer, according to the nation's communications regulator. Concurrently, the use of specialist software designed to circumvent these restrictions has risen.

Sharp Fall in Visitor Figures After Law Implementation

The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July led to an prompt fall in traffic to major online adult platforms, including the leading site in the UK. Figures shows that visitor numbers to this site in August stood at 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million compared to the same period in 2024.

In total, traffic to the 10 top pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a “lower level” than prior to the end-of-July deadline. Later data indicates this downward trend in viewing persisted past August.

Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Evade Checks

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

User numbers peaked at more than 1.4 million in mid-August, up from around 650,000 users before the verification began. However, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has since steadily declined, with latest figures at around 900,000. It clarified that the volume of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for adult sites.

Teenagers Responding to Damaging Online Content

In other findings, the watchdog's annual study revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering harmful content online. Actions included reporting the content to the site to muting the user who posted it.

This survey was conducted before new regulations came into force that require platforms to prevent children from accessing harmful content, such as material related to self-harm and adult material. The primary way teenagers came across such content was by scrolling through a platform feed, suggesting that algorithms were serving inappropriate material.

Ministers Announce Examination of Pornography Laws

Separately, the ministers stated it would examine the legislation governing pornography to assess whether it is effective in the ever-developing online world.

“The review will look into the efficacy of the current law in regarding criminalising, among other things, damaging depictions of incest and any forms of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” stated a justice minister.

Advocates Call For Tighter Online Controls

Campaigners for tighter control of online pornography 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 casting youthful adults portraying children.

Suggested amendments to legislation seek to:

• Ban pornography where adults are mimicking children, often recorded in environments like children’s bedrooms.
• Extend the offence of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an adult plays the role of a child.
• Introduce stricter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which studies suggests is often promoted by platform systems.
• Introduce further controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to possess software designed to generate non-consensual nude images.
• Establish a new, separate regulatory body to perform spot checks on pornography sites and act on reports of illegal content.

The advocates contend that these measures would ensure the protections that have existed for years offline finally are extended to the digital age.