UK Adult Content Site Visits Falls After Age Checks, But Virtual Private Network Use Surges, Reports Regulator

Visitor numbers to pornography sites in the United Kingdom has decreased markedly since the introduction of age-checking measures earlier this year, as reported by the country's communications regulator. Simultaneously, the usage of tools designed to dodge these barriers has surged.

Sharp Fall in Visitor Figures After Rule Enforcement

The enforcement of age vetting on 25 July led to an immediate fall in traffic to major pornography sites, such as the leading site in the UK. Data reveals that visitor numbers to this site in August stood at 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million compared to the equivalent month in 2024.

Overall, visitor numbers to the ten most-visited adult services in the UK have now stabilized at a significantly reduced level than prior to the end-of-July implementation date. Later analysis indicates this decline in site visits persisted beyond August.

Sharp Increase in Virtual Private Network Adoption to Evade Checks

In response to the new rules, adoption of VPN software—which can circumvent geographic blocks by routing connections through another country—more than doubled after 25 July.

User numbers reached a high at more than 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from approximately 650,000 users before the verification were introduced. However, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has since steadily declined, with latest figures standing at around 900,000. It added that the level of daily VPN use remains “much lower” than traffic for adult sites.

Young People Taking Action to Harmful Online Content

In other findings, the watchdog's annual study revealed that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing harmful content online. Steps taken included flagging the content to the platform to blocking the user who shared it.

This research was carried out before new regulations took effect that compel social media companies to prevent children from accessing harmful content, such as material related to suicide and adult material. The primary way young people encountered such content was by scrolling through a social media timeline, indicating that recommendation systems were showing harmful material.

Government Launch Review of Adult Content Laws

In a related development, the ministers announced it would review the criminal law governing pornography to consider whether it is adequate in the ever-developing online world.

“The review will look into the effectiveness of the existing law in regarding making illegal, for example, harmful depictions of incest and any forms of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” stated a government official.

Campaigners Push For Stricter Digital Controls

Campaigners for better control of adult content have called on the authorities to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages child sexual abuse by casting youthful adults dressed as children.

Proposed changes to government bills seek to:

• Ban pornography where adults are impersonating children, often recorded in environments like children’s bedrooms.
• Broaden the offence of making an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an older performer plays the role of a child.
• Apply stricter regulation on incest-themed pornography, which research indicates is heavily recommended by site systems.
• Introduce additional controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to possess tools designed to generate non-consensual nude images.
• Establish a new, independent oversight agency to conduct spot checks on adult platforms and respond to reports of illegal content.

The advocates argue that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have existed for decades in the physical world finally are extended to the online sphere.