British Adult Content Site Visits Declines Following Age Verifications, But VPN Use Spikes, States Watchdog

Access to pornography platforms in the United Kingdom has fallen significantly since the introduction of age-checking measures earlier this year, as reported by the country's communications authority. At the same time, the use of tools designed to dodge these barriers has risen.

Immediate Fall in Visitor Figures After Law Enforcement

The introduction of age vetting on 25 July caused an swift decline in visits to leading pornography sites, including the most visited site in the UK. Data indicates that user traffic to this site in August were 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million compared to the same period in 2024.

Overall, visitor numbers to the 10 most-visited adult services in the UK have now settled at a significantly reduced level than before the late July implementation date. Later analysis indicates this decline in viewing persisted beyond August.

Surge in Virtual Private Network Usage to Bypass Restrictions

In response to the new regulations, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can circumvent geographic blocks by masking connections through another nation—increased dramatically following 25 July.

Usage reached a high at over 1.4 million in mid-August, rising from around 650,000 people prior to the verification began. Subsequently, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has since fallen back, with current figures standing at approximately 900,000. It added that the level of regular VPN use remains “much lower” than user numbers for pornography sites.

Teenagers Taking Action to Damaging Online Content

In other findings, the watchdog's annual study found that about 60% of young people aged 11 to 17 had taken action after encountering distressing content on the internet. Actions ranged from reporting the content to the platform to muting the user who posted it.

This research was conducted before new regulations took effect that compel social media companies to prevent children from accessing dangerous content, including material related to suicide and adult material. The most common way young people encountered such content was by looking through a platform timeline, suggesting that recommendation systems were showing inappropriate material.

Government Announce Review of Pornography Laws

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

“The review will look into the effectiveness of the current law in regarding making illegal, for example, harmful portrayals of incest and any forms of pornography which encourage the abuse of children,” stated a justice minister.

Advocates Call For Tighter Digital Controls

Campaigners for better regulation of online pornography have urged the authorities to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring simulated familial abuse or that encourages child sexual abuse by casting young-looking performers dressed as children.

Suggested changes to government bills aim to:

• Ban pornography where performers are mimicking children, sometimes filmed in settings like children’s bedrooms.
• Extend the offence of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an adult acts the part of a child.
• Introduce stricter controls on familial abuse pornography, which research indicates is heavily recommended by site algorithms.
• Introduce further restrictions on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an illegal act to own software designed to generate private images without permission.
• Establish a new, independent regulatory body to perform spot checks on pornography sites and respond to complaints of unlawful content.

The advocates contend that these measures would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for decades in the physical world finally are extended to the digital age.