UK Adult Content Traffic Falls After Identity Checks, But Virtual Private Network Use Surges, Reports Watchdog

Access to pornography platforms in the United Kingdom has seen a notable drop after the introduction of mandatory age verification earlier this year, according to the country's communications watchdog. At the same time, the adoption of tools designed to bypass these barriers has surged.

Immediate Fall in User Numbers After Rule Implementation

The introduction of age verification on 25 July resulted in an swift decline in visits to leading online adult platforms, such as the most visited site in the UK. Data shows that visitor numbers to this site in August were 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.

In total, traffic to the 10 top adult services in the UK have now stabilized at a “lower level” than before the end-of-July implementation date. Subsequent data indicates this downward trend in viewing continued past August.

Surge in Virtual Private Network Usage to Bypass Checks

Reacting to the new rules, adoption of VPN software—which can bypass geographic blocks by masking internet traffic through another nation—surged after 25 July.

Usage reached a high at over 1.4 million in mid-August, up from approximately 650,000 users before the verification began. Subsequently, the regulator stated that VPN usage has since fallen back, with latest numbers at around 900,000. It added that the level of daily VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for pornography services.

Young People Taking Action to Damaging Material

In other findings, the watchdog's report found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing damaging content online. Actions included flagging the content to the platform to blocking the person who shared it.

This survey was conducted before new rules took effect that require platforms to stop children from accessing dangerous content, including material related to self-harm and adult material. The primary way teenagers came across such content was by scrolling through a social media feed, suggesting that recommendation systems were showing harmful material.

Ministers Launch Examination of Pornography Laws

Separately, the government stated it would examine the criminal law relating to pornography to consider whether it is adequate in the ever-developing online world.

“The review will investigate the efficacy of the existing law in relation to criminalising, for example, damaging portrayals of incest and any forms of pornography which encourage child sexual abuse,” stated a government official.

Advocates Call For Tighter Online Regulations

Campaigners for better control of adult content have urged the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This includes content featuring incest scenes or that appears to promote child sexual abuse by using young-looking performers portraying children.

Proposed amendments to government bills aim to:

• Prohibit pornography where performers are mimicking children, sometimes recorded in environments like children’s bedrooms.
• Broaden the offence of creating an indecent image of a child to cover material where an older performer acts the part of a child.
• Introduce tighter controls on incest-themed pornography, which studies suggests is often promoted by platform algorithms.
• Add additional restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an illegal act to possess tools designed to create non-consensual nude images.
• Create a new, independent oversight agency to perform spot checks on pornography sites and respond to reports of unlawful content.

The campaigners contend that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have existed for years offline finally apply to the digital age.