British Pornography Site Visits Declines Following Age Checks, Yet Virtual Private Network Usage Spikes, Reports Watchdog

Access to adult content sites in the UK has decreased markedly after the enforcement of mandatory age verification earlier this year, as reported by the nation's communications regulator. At the same time, the usage of tools designed to circumvent these barriers has risen.

Immediate Fall in User Numbers Following Rule Enforcement

The introduction of age vetting on 25 July caused an swift decline in traffic to popular online adult platforms, such as the top site in the UK. Data reveals that user traffic to this platform in August reached 9.8 million, a drop of 1.5 million compared to the equivalent month in 2024.

In total, traffic to the 10 top adult services in the UK have now settled at a “lower level” than before the late July deadline. Later data shows this decline in site visits continued beyond August.

Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Usage to Evade Checks

Reacting to the new regulations, use of VPN software—which can circumvent location-based restrictions by routing internet traffic through another nation—surged after 25 July.

User numbers peaked at more than 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from approximately 650,000 users before the checks began. Subsequently, the regulator stated that VPN usage has afterwards fallen back, with latest figures standing at around 900,000. It added that the volume of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for adult sites.

Young People Taking Action to Harmful Online Content

In other findings, the watchdog's report found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after encountering harmful content online. Steps taken included reporting the content to the site to muting the person who posted it.

This survey was carried out prior to new regulations took effect that require social media companies to prevent children from seeing dangerous content, such as material related to self-harm and adult material. The primary way young people encountered such content was by looking through a social media timeline, suggesting that algorithms were serving harmful material.

Ministers Announce Examination of Adult Content Legislation

In a related development, the ministers stated it would review the legislation governing pornography to consider whether it is adequate in the modern online world.

“The review will investigate the efficacy of the current law in relation to making illegal, among other things, harmful depictions of incest and any forms of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” said a justice minister.

Campaigners Call For Tighter Digital Controls

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

Proposed amendments to government bills seek to:

• Prohibit pornography where performers are impersonating children, sometimes recorded in settings like children’s bedrooms.
• Extend the offence of making an indecent image of a child to include material where an adult plays the role of a child.
• Introduce tighter controls on incest-themed pornography, which research indicates is heavily recommended by platform systems.
• Add further restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to own tools designed to create private images without permission.
• Establish a new, independent oversight agency to conduct inspections on pornography sites and respond to complaints of unlawful content.

The campaigners argue that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for years in the physical world finally apply to the online sphere.