British Adult Content Traffic Declines Following Identity Verifications, But Virtual Private Network Use Spikes, States Regulator

Visitor numbers to pornography sites in the United Kingdom has fallen significantly after the roll-out of mandatory age verification earlier this year, according to the country's communications authority. Simultaneously, the usage of specialist software designed to dodge these barriers has increased.

Sharp Drop in User Numbers After Rule Implementation

The enforcement of age verification on 25 July caused an immediate reduction in traffic to leading online adult platforms, such as the top provider in the UK. Figures reveals that user traffic to this site in August were 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million compared to the same period in 2024.

In total, traffic to the ten most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a significantly reduced level than before the late July deadline. Subsequent data indicates this decline in site visits persisted beyond August.

Surge in VPN Usage to Evade Restrictions

In response to the new rules, adoption of VPN software—which can bypass location-based restrictions by routing connections through another nation—surged following 25 July.

User numbers peaked at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from approximately 650,000 people before the checks began. However, the regulator stated that VPN usage has since decreased, with current numbers standing at around 900,000. It added that the volume of daily VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for pornography services.

Young People Taking Action to Harmful Material

In other findings, the regulator's report revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering distressing content on the internet. Steps taken ranged from reporting the content to the site to blocking the person who posted it.

This research was conducted prior to new regulations came into force that compel platforms to stop children from seeing dangerous content, such as material related to self-harm and adult material. The most common way young people encountered such content was by scrolling through a platform feed, suggesting that recommendation systems were serving harmful material.

Ministers Launch Review of Adult Content Legislation

Separately, the government announced it would examine the criminal law governing pornography to consider whether it is effective in the modern digital age.

“The examination will investigate the effectiveness of the current law in relation to making illegal, among other things, harmful depictions of incest and any forms of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” said a government official.

Campaigners Call For Stricter Digital Regulations

Campaigners for tighter control of adult content have called on the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that encourages abuse by casting youthful performers portraying children.

Proposed amendments to government bills aim to:

• Prohibit pornography where performers are impersonating children, often filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
• Broaden the crime of making an indecent image of a child to include material where an adult plays the role of a child.
• Apply tighter controls on incest-themed pornography, which research indicates is often promoted by platform systems.
• Add additional restrictions on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to possess tools designed to create private images without permission.
• Create a new, independent oversight agency to conduct inspections on pornography sites and act on complaints of unlawful content.

The campaigners contend that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have existed for decades offline finally are extended to the digital age.