British Pornography Site Visits Falls Following Identity Checks, Yet Virtual Private Network Use Spikes, Reports Watchdog

Traffic to adult content websites in the United Kingdom has seen a notable drop since the roll-out of age-checking measures this summer, according to the nation's communications regulator. Simultaneously, the use of specialist software designed to dodge these blocks has risen.

Sharp Drop in Visitor Figures After Law Enforcement

The introduction of age verification on 25 July resulted in an prompt fall in visits to popular online adult platforms, including the leading site in the UK. Figures indicates that user traffic to this platform in August stood at 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million compared to the equivalent month in 2024.

Overall, traffic to the 10 top adult services in the UK have now settled at a markedly decreased volume than before the end-of-July implementation date. Later data suggests this decline in viewing continued past August.

Surge in VPN Usage to Evade Restrictions

Reacting to the new rules, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can circumvent geographic restrictions by masking connections through another nation—more than doubled following 25 July.

Usage peaked at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from around 650,000 people before the verification began. Subsequently, the regulator noted that VPN usage has afterwards steadily declined, with latest numbers standing at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the volume of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for pornography services.

Teenagers Responding to Harmful Material

Elsewhere, the regulator's report revealed that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing distressing content online. Actions included flagging the content to the site to muting the user who shared it.

This research was conducted before new regulations came into force that require platforms to stop children from seeing harmful content, such as material related to self-harm and pornography. The primary way young people came across such content was by scrolling through a social media feed, suggesting that recommendation systems were serving inappropriate material.

Government Launch Review of Pornography Laws

Separately, the ministers stated it would examine the legislation governing pornography to consider whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern digital age.

“The review will look into the efficacy of the current law in regarding making illegal, among other things, harmful portrayals of familial abuse and any forms of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” stated a government official.

Campaigners Push For Stricter Digital Controls

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

Proposed amendments to government bills seek to:

• Ban pornography where adults are mimicking children, often recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
• Broaden the offence of making an indecent image of a child to cover material where an adult plays the role of a child.
• Introduce stricter controls on familial abuse pornography, which studies indicates is often promoted by site systems.
• Introduce further controls on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to possess tools designed to generate non-consensual nude images.
• Create a new, independent regulatory body to perform inspections on pornography sites and act on reports of unlawful content.

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