UK Adult Content Site Visits Falls Following Identity Checks, But Virtual Private Network Use Surges, States Regulator
Traffic to adult content platforms in the UK has seen a notable drop after the enforcement of age-checking measures earlier this year, as reported by the country's communications watchdog. Simultaneously, the usage of specialist software designed to bypass these barriers has increased.
Immediate Drop in User Figures Following Law Enforcement
The introduction of age vetting on 25 July led to an swift decline in traffic to popular online adult platforms, such as the leading provider in the UK. Figures reveals that visitor numbers to this platform in August were 9.8 million, a decrease of 1.5 million from the same period in 2024.
Overall, traffic to the 10 most-visited pornography sites in the UK have now settled at a significantly reduced level than before the late July implementation date. Subsequent analysis shows this slump in site visits continued beyond August.
Sharp Increase in VPN Usage to Bypass Restrictions
Reacting to the new rules, adoption of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)—which can get around location-based restrictions by routing internet traffic through another nation—more than doubled after 25 July.
Usage peaked at over 1.4 million in the middle of August, rising from approximately 650,000 users prior to the verification were introduced. However, the watchdog noted that VPN usage has afterwards decreased, with current numbers standing at around 900,000. It clarified that the level of daily VPN use is “much lower” than traffic for pornography services.
Teenagers Responding to Damaging Online Content
In other findings, the watchdog's report found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had acted after seeing harmful content on the internet. Steps taken included flagging the content to the site to muting the user who shared it.
This survey was carried out prior to new regulations took effect that compel social media companies to prevent children from seeing harmful content, such as material related to suicide and pornography. The most common way young people came across such content was by looking through a platform feed, indicating that recommendation systems were showing inappropriate material.
Government Announce Review of Pornography Legislation
Separately, the government announced it would review the legislation relating to pornography to consider whether it is “fit for purpose” in the modern online world.
“The review will look into the efficacy of the current law in relation to making illegal, among other things, harmful depictions of familial abuse and any types of pornography which promote child sexual abuse,” stated a justice minister.
Campaigners Push For Tighter Digital Regulations
Advocates for better regulation of online pornography have called on the government to ban so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote child sexual abuse by using young-looking performers dressed as children.
Suggested amendments to government bills seek to:
- Prohibit pornography where adults are impersonating children, often recorded in environments like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the offence of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to include material where an older performer plays the role of a child.
- Apply stricter controls on familial abuse pornography, which research indicates is often promoted by site systems.
- Add further controls on “nudification” technology, potentially making it an offence to own tools designed to generate private images without permission.
- Create a new, separate oversight agency to perform inspections on adult platforms and respond to reports of unlawful content.
The advocates contend that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have existed for decades in the physical world finally apply to the digital age.
