UK Adult Content Site Visits Declines Following Age Verifications, Yet Virtual Private Network Use Spikes, Reports Regulator

Traffic to adult content platforms in the UK has fallen significantly after the introduction of mandatory age verification earlier this year, according to the country's communications regulator. At the same time, the adoption of tools designed to dodge these blocks has risen.

Immediate Fall in User Figures Following Law Implementation

The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July caused an immediate reduction in visits to leading online adult platforms, such as the most visited site in the UK. Data shows that user traffic to this platform in August stood at 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million compared to the equivalent month in 2024.

In total, traffic to the 10 most-visited adult services in the UK have now settled at a markedly decreased volume than prior to the late July implementation date. Subsequent data shows this slump in site visits continued beyond August.

Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Bypass Restrictions

In response to the new regulations, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can bypass geographic restrictions by routing internet traffic via another nation—surged after 25 July.

Usage peaked at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from around 650,000 users prior to the verification began. Subsequently, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has since steadily declined, with latest numbers at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the level of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for pornography sites.

Young People Responding to Harmful Online Content

Elsewhere, the regulator's annual study revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering damaging content on the internet. Actions ranged from reporting the content to the platform to blocking the user who posted it.

This research was conducted before new regulations came into force that compel platforms to prevent children from seeing harmful content, including material related to suicide and pornography. The most common way young people came across such content was by scrolling through a social media feed, indicating that recommendation systems were serving harmful material.

Government Launch Review of Adult Content Legislation

Separately, the government announced it would review the legislation relating to pornography to assess whether it is adequate in the ever-developing online world.

“The review will investigate the effectiveness of the current law in regarding criminalising, for example, damaging depictions of familial abuse and any forms of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” said a justice minister.

Advocates Push For Tighter Digital Controls

Advocates for tighter regulation of online pornography have urged the authorities to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote child sexual abuse by using youthful adults portraying children.

Proposed amendments to legislation aim to:

• Prohibit pornography where performers are mimicking children, sometimes recorded in environments like children’s bedrooms.
• Extend the offence of making an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an adult plays the role of a child.
• Introduce tighter controls on familial abuse pornography, which studies indicates is heavily recommended by site 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, independent oversight agency to conduct spot checks on adult platforms and act on complaints of unlawful content.

The campaigners argue that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for decades in the physical world finally are extended to the digital age.