British Adult Content Site Visits Falls Following Age Verifications, But VPN Usage Surges, Reports Regulator

Access to adult content platforms in the United Kingdom has seen a notable drop after the roll-out of age-checking measures earlier this year, according to the nation's communications watchdog. At the same time, the adoption of specialist software designed to bypass these blocks has increased.

Sharp Drop in User Figures After Rule Implementation

The introduction of age verification on 25 July led to an swift reduction in visits to popular pornography sites, such as the top provider in the UK. Data shows that user traffic to this site in August reached 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.

In total, traffic to the ten top adult services in the UK have now stabilized at a markedly decreased volume than before the end-of-July implementation date. Subsequent data suggests this slump in site visits persisted past August.

Sharp Increase in VPN Usage to Evade Restrictions

Reacting to the new rules, adoption of VPN software—which can circumvent location-based restrictions by routing connections through another nation—increased dramatically following 25 July.

Usage peaked at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from around 650,000 users prior to the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the regulator stated that VPN usage has since decreased, with latest numbers standing at approximately 900,000. It added that the volume of daily VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for adult sites.

Young People Responding to Damaging Material

In other findings, the regulator's report found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing harmful content online. Steps taken included reporting the material to the platform to blocking the user who posted it.

This survey was conducted before new regulations came into force that compel social media companies to stop children from accessing dangerous content, including material related to suicide and adult material. The most common way teenagers encountered such content was by scrolling through a social media timeline, suggesting that algorithms were serving inappropriate material.

Government Announce Examination of Adult Content Legislation

Separately, the ministers announced it would examine the legislation governing pornography to assess whether it is effective in the modern digital age.

“The examination will investigate the efficacy of the existing law in regarding making illegal, among other things, harmful depictions of familial abuse and any types of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” stated a justice minister.

Campaigners Push For Stricter Digital Controls

Campaigners for better regulation of online pornography have urged the authorities to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages abuse by casting young-looking adults dressed as children.

Proposed changes to legislation aim to:

• Ban pornography where adults are mimicking children, often filmed in settings like children’s bedrooms.
• Broaden the crime of making an indecent image of a child to include material where an older performer acts the part of a child.
• Introduce stricter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which studies suggests is often promoted by site systems.
• Introduce additional controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to possess tools designed to create private images without permission.
• Create a new, independent regulatory body to perform inspections on adult platforms and respond to complaints of illegal content.

The advocates contend that these steps would ensure the protections that have existed for decades offline finally apply to the online sphere.