UK Pornography Site Visits Declines Following Identity Checks, Yet VPN Use Surges, Reports Watchdog

Access to adult content websites in the United Kingdom has decreased markedly after the introduction of mandatory age verification this summer, according to the country's communications watchdog. At the same time, the adoption of tools designed to bypass these blocks has increased.

Immediate Drop in User Figures After Rule Enforcement

The introduction of age verification on 25 July resulted in an immediate fall in visits to leading online adult platforms, including the top provider in the UK. Data shows that user traffic to this site in August were 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.

In total, visitor numbers to the 10 top pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a markedly decreased volume than prior to the late July deadline. Subsequent analysis shows this slump in viewing persisted past August.

Surge in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Bypass Checks

Reacting to the new regulations, use of VPN software—which can get around geographic restrictions by routing internet traffic through another nation—more than doubled after 25 July.

User numbers reached a high at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, up from approximately 650,000 users prior to the verification began. However, the regulator stated that VPN usage has since fallen back, with current numbers standing at approximately 900,000. It added that the volume of daily VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for adult sites.

Young People Responding to Damaging Online Content

Elsewhere, the regulator's annual study revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering harmful content online. Actions included flagging the material to the platform to muting the user who posted it.

This survey was carried out prior to new rules came into force that require social media companies to stop children from seeing dangerous content, including material related to self-harm and pornography. The primary way teenagers came across such content was by looking through a social media feed, indicating that algorithms were serving inappropriate material.

Government Announce Examination of Pornography Legislation

Separately, the government stated it would review the criminal law governing pornography to consider whether it is adequate in the modern online world.

“The examination will investigate the effectiveness of the current law in relation to criminalising, among other things, damaging portrayals of incest and any types of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” said a justice minister.

Advocates Call For Stricter Digital Controls

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

Proposed changes to government bills aim to:

• Ban pornography where adults are impersonating children, sometimes filmed in environments like children’s bedrooms.
• Broaden the crime of making an indecent image of a child to include material where an older performer plays the role of a child.
• Apply stricter controls on incest-themed pornography, which research indicates is heavily recommended by platform algorithms.
• Introduce additional restrictions on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to possess tools designed to generate non-consensual nude images.
• Establish a new, separate regulatory body to conduct inspections on adult platforms and act on complaints of unlawful content.

The advocates contend that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have existed for decades offline finally are extended to the online sphere.