UK Adult Content Traffic Falls After Age Verifications, Yet VPN Usage Surges, Reports Watchdog

Visitor numbers to pornography sites in the United Kingdom has seen a notable drop after the introduction of mandatory age verification this summer, according to the country's communications watchdog. Concurrently, the use of tools designed to dodge these blocks has risen.

Immediate Fall in Visitor Numbers Following Rule Enforcement

The enforcement of age verification on 25 July caused an prompt decline in visits to major online adult platforms, such as the most visited site in the UK. Figures shows that user traffic to this site in August reached 9.8 million, a drop 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 significantly reduced level than before the late July implementation date. Later data suggests this decline in site visits persisted past August.

Surge in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Evade Checks

Reacting to the new regulations, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can circumvent location-based restrictions by masking internet traffic via another nation—surged following 25 July.

Usage reached a high at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from approximately 650,000 people before the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the regulator noted that VPN usage has afterwards decreased, with current numbers at around 900,000. It clarified that the level of daily VPN use is “much lower” than user numbers for pornography sites.

Young People Responding to Harmful Online Content

Elsewhere, the watchdog's annual study revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering harmful content online. Actions included reporting the content to the platform to blocking the person who posted it.

This survey was conducted before new rules came into force that require platforms to prevent children from accessing harmful content, such as material related to suicide and pornography. The primary way young people encountered such content was by scrolling through a platform timeline, indicating that algorithms were serving inappropriate material.

Government Launch Examination of Pornography Laws

In a related development, the ministers stated it would examine the legislation relating to pornography to consider whether it is adequate in the ever-developing digital age.

“The review will look into the effectiveness of the existing law in regarding criminalising, for example, harmful portrayals of incest and any types of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” stated a government official.

Advocates Call For Tighter Digital Regulations

Campaigners for tighter control of online pornography have called on the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring incest scenes or that encourages child sexual abuse by casting youthful performers dressed as children.

Proposed changes to government bills aim to:

• Prohibit pornography where adults are impersonating children, often filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
• Extend the offence of making an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an adult acts the part of a child.
• Apply stricter controls on incest-themed pornography, which research indicates is often promoted by site algorithms.
• Add further restrictions on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to possess tools designed to generate private images without permission.
• Create a new, independent regulatory body to conduct spot checks on pornography sites and act on complaints of illegal content.

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